The Cold Dead of Winter
by katyrye
Summary: A horror story that is set in a A/U and based off of the movie 'The Marsh'.
1. Chapter 1

"This is going to be just what we're looking for," Gil Grissom said, navigating the Jeep Cherokee around a bend in the road.

Sara Grissom looked out the window at the scenery. It was the dead of winter and icicles hung from all the tree boughs. She wasn't used to being surrounded by trees and sky, but it was a nice change.

Gil picked up a map he had printed from off the Internet and raised his eyebrows at it. "The house should be coming up soon," he said.

"Is it a big house daddy?" Emily Grissom, their seven year old daughter, asked from the back seat.

"From the pictures I saw, it's pretty big," Gil answered, taking a left at a fork in the road.

A few months ago, during one of San Francisco's heavy rains, Emily had asked about snow. Gil made it a personal goal that his daughter saw snow before the end of the year and started looking for winter getaways in northern California. He found one; a place called 'Mountain View'.

"How far is it from town?" Sara asked, glancing at Gil.

"There's a town on the other side of it call Hickory Ridge about twenty minutes north, so not too far. If we need anything we'll be fine," Gil said, taking another bend.

"This road is fun!" Emily laughed from the back.

They had rented a Jeep Cherokee for their trip, to better prepare themselves for driving in the mountains. Sara had also gone on a shopping spree; buying winter clothes, extra blankets and anything else they would need to live in the cold for the next three weeks. She planned to make a trip into the nearest town to shop for food.

"Daddy, how far away is home?" Emily asked.

Gil pursed his lips and thought about her question. "Home is about five hundred miles back," he answered.

Sara watched Emily's reaction in the rear view mirror. Her eyes widened, like she had just been given a unicorn, and she turned to look out the back window. "Wow, how long have we been driving!" she asked.

"A very long time!" Sara laughed.

They had started driving towards Fort Jones at about six in the morning; it was now pushing five in the afternoon. The only stops they had made were for food, bathroom breaks, and gas. Sara tried to sleep on the way, dozing against the window,

"Well, we'll be there in just a few minutes," Gill said, taking another bend in the road.

"Good because I can't feel my legs," Sara said with a smile.

"And my butt tingles," Emily added.

After yet another bend in the road, Sara saw the turn off. It was marked by an old wooden sign and was hard to spot. She would have surely missed it if she had been driving. The turn off was called 'Sunny Acres'.

"Magical name," Sara remarked, sitting up to get a better view of the road ahead.

"Horses!" Emily yelled, plastering her face to the window.

Gil and Sara looked to their left and sure enough, they saw horses. They were beautiful black stallions, busy munching on hay rolls and switching their tails.

"Mommy, can we ride them?" Emily pleaded from the back.

"I don't see why not, baby. We'll have to find out who's in charge of them first," Sara replied.

"Wow, real horses," Emily said with wonder.

Ten minutes more into their drive Sara saw a two story, ranch style house. She shook her head slightly and looked again, shocked that Gil had found such a beautiful place to stay.

"Is that our house?" Emily asked, taking the words right out of her mouth.

"Yes it is," Gil said with a smile in his voice.

They drove past a mail box and up a gravel driveway. The house was surrounded by a thick forest; another house was not in sight. A woman stood waving on the front porch.

"Who's that?" Emily's small voice piped up.

"That's Mrs. Johnson, she owns the house and she may even own the horses," Gil replied, bringing the Jeep to a stop.

Gil opened his door and the woman walked down the stairs, holding a set of keys. "Mr. Grissom, I'm Jenifer. I know you had a long drive, coming all the way from San Francisco. Come on, it's warmer inside," She said, waving the Grissom's into the house.

"We'll come back and bring the bags in," Gil said to Sara as she opened her door.

Sara stepped out onto the snow and looked around; it was like a winter wonderland. The house had a stone walkway that led up to a wooden stairs, leading up to a large wrap-around porch. Icicles hung from the eaves of the house, stopping at a sharp point. There was a wooden swing on the porch, where Sara was sure she would be spending a lot of time.

"Mommy, can I play?" Emily asked as Sara unstrapped her.

"No baby, we're going to go look at the house," Sara said with a smile.

"But, what if I come back and the snow is gone!" Emily whined.

"Honey, trust me. The snow will still be here waiting," Sara replied.

OOO

When the Grissom family walked through the front door they gasped at the giant living room, with white furniture and a crackling fire. The floor was hardwood, not the linoleum kind that could be found in many homes, but the sturdy kind that could only be found in log cabins and country homes.

"It sure is big," Emily said.

Sara nodded in agreement. "And beautiful too, very beautiful."

Jenifer led them into a large spacious kitchen and Sara gasped. The cabinets were made of a light colored wood and paned with glass. The counter tops were black granite and housed a matching stove, dishwasher and refrigerator. The floor wasn't the same wood as the living room was, but smooth white tile. A large wood table sat to the side underneath a giant bay window.

"This kitchen is beautiful. This can't be just ours for three weeks," Sara said, starring open mouthed at the kitchen.

"Well, it is," Gil said, putting his hand on the small of Sara's back.

"You'll have to get your own food, of course," Jenifer said.

"That won't be a problem," Gil said.

Jenifer walked over to one of the cabinets and opened it to reveal stacked plates, bowls and glasses. "You can use all of this, but all I ask is that you clean it and leave it how you found it," she said, shutting the door softly.

The rest of the tour was packed with more wondrous surprises and beautiful rooms. The room that Gil and Sara were to share was spacious with a king sized bed, much like the one they had at home. The room Emily was to sleep in looked more like a young boy's room, with a bunk bed and airplane wallpaper. She didn't seem to mind it; in fact she was excited and claimed she would sleep on the top bunk.

"We'll see," Sara had said.

When the tour was over, and Emily was playing in the play fort in the yard, Sara had pulled their entire luggage into the house and arranged all their things, before settling down on the front porch swing to look at the snow. She had seen snow before, when she was an undergraduate at Harvard. The snow there had been cruel and cold, she had never gotten used it.

"Mommy, it tastes good!" Emily yelled.

OOO

Gil had stayed behind at the house to rest while Sara and Emily had gone to explore the town of Hickory Ridge. She didn't blame him for being exhausted, seeing as he had driven nearly nine hours. Gil had given her the keys, warned her about the twists in the road, and reminded her to get matches for the fire place.

"Mommy, can I get Lucky Charms to eat?" Emily asked.

"Yeah baby, we'll get you some Lucky Charms," Sara replied, passing a sign that read 'Welcome to Hickory Ridge'.

The road that drove through town had been swept clean of snow, it sat banked against the sides. She saw a small grocery store and parked in a front parking spot.

"This is a small store," Emily observed.

"Yeah, it's a small town. The store doesn't have to be very big," Sara replied.

She took Emily's small mittened hand and walked her into the store. They selected a basket and Sara put Emily in the small seat in front. The store didn't have as much food as their local grocery did back home, but it had what they needed. As she paid for the supplies and food the cashier smiled at her, he was an older man.

"You're not from here, are you?" he asked.

Sara smiled. "No, we're actually renting a lodge for a few weeks."

The cashier nodded. "It's a beautiful place during the winter, but its harsh," he said, packing her groceries.

Sara smiled a reply and took her bags. "I think we'll be fine, we're staying in a nice place,"

"Oh really, where at?" he asked.

"Mountain View," she replied.

"Oh, Jenifer Johnson's property. It's a shame how she's been treated." he said.

Sara furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"

"It's just that she has had other customers, such as yourself. A lot of them sort of high tailed it out of town without paying her. That's a really shitty way to treat someone if you ask me," he glanced at Emily and frowned. "Excuse me," he added.

Sara frowned at his use of language around Emily, but shook it off. "Well, we have every intention of paying. As a matter of fact we did in advance," she said.

The old man nodded. "That's good," he said, turning his attention to the next customer.

"Well, maybe we'll see you again," she said as she left.

OOO

"We've got to get a bathtub like this," Sara said, leaning back in the large white porcelain tub.

Gil stood at the sink, trimming his beard. "Is it that nice? I haven't tried it yet," he said with a grin.

After dinner Emily had been exhausted from the long drive and had gone to sleep, in the top bunk, almost instantly. Sara decided to take advantage of the large bathtub in the bathroom adjoined to their room.

"You should, I can lay out straight and slip under if I'm not careful," she said with a smile.

Gil turned with a slight smile and looked down at her, lying naked in the bath. "Sounds tempting," he teased.

"I know we're going to sleep good tonight," she said with a smile. "That drive wore me out."

Gil laughed and began to remove his clothes. "I don't think you were driving," he said.

"Well okay I wasn't driving, but it was still exhausting," she said.

Sara sat up and Gil stepped into the bath with her. He leaned back onto her chest and she held him from behind, running her fingers over his chest.

"This is a nice place, isn't it?" he asked.

Sara sighed and leaned her head against his. "Yes, it's beautiful here. Em, is ecstatic over the snow."

"Yeah, we'll have to take her sledding," he said, caressing her thigh.

"Do _you _like it here?" she asked him.

Gil nodded slightly. "I think it's relaxing."

Sara kissed the shell of his ear and sighed as he turned to face her. "I do too," she said.


	2. Chapter 2

**_DAY ONE_**

When Sara woke up, bright sunlight was pouring through the bedroom window. She knew the light was brighter because the sun's rays reflected off the snow, but it was nearly too blinding for her. She was used to pulling her drapes closed and waking up to a dark bedroom, but she figured it was good for a change. She turned to her side and gazed at her sleeping husband, his hair in disarray from the previous night's activities.

"Good morning sleepy head," she sighed, kissing his sleeping face.

Gil opened his eyes slowly and focused on her. "Gimme five minutes," he slurred.

Sara kissed his head one final time and rose from the bed, the cold air hitting her immediately. She rubbed her naked arms and shrugged on her bathrobe, the floor was cold against her bare feet. As she padded down the hall she saw Emily stirring in her sleep, a sign she was about to exit dream land and return to earth. She tiptoed down the stairs, carefully because she was still groggy. As she walked through the living room she noticed a black and white cat, waiting patiently at the front door.

"Who are you?" Sara asked softly, walking up to the big paned door and tapping her finger on the glass.

The cat cried and stood up to lick her finger through the glass; she figured it was probably a stray that everyone fed. At home, no matter how many stray cats came to the house, Gil was firm about not feeding or taking them in. Sara didn't blame him; Emily was asthmatic and allergic to a lot of things. They weren't sure if cat hair was on the list, but they weren't in a hurry to find out. Sara turned back to the kitchen and turned her thoughts towards breakfast. It was a rare occasion that the Grissom family all woke up together and she was going to make the most out of every day for the next three weeks. She pulled open the refrigerator and pulled out the eggs, milk, and butter. Despite being a vegetarian and their breakfast fixings being the products of animals, she figured some things were better than meat and left it at that.

"What's cooking, good looking?" Gil said, shuffling into the kitchen.

Sara smiled as Gil kissed her in the crook of her neck. "Are eggs and toast alright?" she asked.

Gil shuffled over to the coffee pot and started a pot. "That sounds fine."

Soon they heard a smaller pair of feet walking slowly down the stairs. Sara heard a soft whine and knew that Emily had what Gil called 'Emily Grissom's Morning Mood Swing'. Minuets later she appeared, rubbing her eyes and looking around.

"Good morning, caterpillar," Gil said, taking a seat at the table.

Emily climbed into Gil's lap and leaned her head against his chest. "I forgot we were here," she said, groggily.

"I bet that scared you, huh?" Sara asked, pushing the scrambled eggs around with the spatula.

"What do you think we should do today?" Gil asked, looking down at Emily.

"Build a snowman," Emily answered.

"Okay, one snowman. How about we go look around town, too?" he said.

Sara dished the eggs and toast out onto three plates and set them on the table. She poured Emily some juice and coffee for her and Gil. "That sounds good," she said.

OOO

They had parked their jeep in front of the small store and walked around town on foot. Gil was interested in all of the old and unique structures of the buildings. Sara was glancing in shop windows at antiques and old fashioned homemade clothing.

"It's like stepping into the past," Sara said.

They had lunch in a small dinner that had old fashioned wooden booths. Emily was wide eyed, starring at people out the window.

"What looks good to you?" Gil asked, trying to strike up conversation.

Sara opened her menu and stared at the listed foods. "I'll just have a salad," she replied.

"Mommy you always have a salad!" Emily laughed.

"Well, what are you getting?" Sara asked her.

Emily made a pleased face and licked her lips. "Grilled cheese!" she answered.

Sara laughed and pinched Emily's nose lovingly. "You always get grilled chesses," she said.

They placed their order and waited in peaceful silence. Emily sat coloring a children's menu and Sara was content holding Gil's hand and watching the passing cars.

"Here you go." the waitress said, bringing them their food.

"Thank you," they all said, simultaneously.

The waitress looked at them for a moment and smiled. "I don't mean to pry, but you are tourists right?" she asked.

Gil nodded. "We're staying in the mountains," he answered.

"Well, it's just that from all the tourists we get, you don't find much like you," the waitress said.

Sara paused for a beat. "What do you mean?" she asked.

"Well, I see the people who come up here to get away from one another or married couple who can't look at each other. When I saw you two, I knew you two were in love with each other. You just don't see it anymore," she said.

Sara blushed. "Thank you, we are in love," she said.

"You have a beautiful child, she looks like both of you." the waitress said.

Beside Sara, Emily was busy chewing on French fries and looking at the small dessert menu, she hadn't been listening to the conversation. However, when she heard the word 'Child' she looked up and smiled her snaggle-toothed smile.

"Thank you." she said.

OOO

After their trip into town Gil picked up a book and left Sara and Emily to romp in the snow. Sara had buttoned Emily up in a little blue coat, which Emily didn't like very much.

"Mommy it's hot!" Emily whined.

Sara laughed."Just wait until we get outside," she said, tying her hood.

Sara buttoned her own coat and grabbed the necessary 'snowman equipment' Outside the air was bitter; the sun was omitting a small amount of warmth and softened the snow.

"Mommy!" Emily sang, throwing a handful of snow.

Sara laughed and tried to dodge the small handful of snow. "That's not how you do it," Sara said, scooping up a handful of snow and packing it in her hands.

OOO

Gil could hear Sara and Emily laughing from inside the house. He set down his book and walked to the window, watching them as they threw handfuls of snow at one another

"Mommy, you better run!" he heard Emily laugh, running up behind Sara.

When Emily had asked about snow, it seemed to be on queue. His final will and testament had been on his mind and he couldn't help but think of the things he wouldn't experience with Emily. He was quick to find a snowy mountain getaway and whisk his family away for a month.

"Ahhhh!" Sara screamed playfully as she was hit with snow.

Gil marked his place in his book and went to join the play. If he was worried about spending time with Emily, then there was no time like the present.

OOO

Emily looked up at her mommy and daddy as they put the rest of the vegetables on the snowman. Daddy had put carrots where its nose was to be and baby tomatoes for its eyes. Mommy said it looked evil and she had laughed.

"It needs arms," mommy said, wrapping a scarf around it.

"Look for big sticks," daddy told everyone.

"Stay out of the woods," mommy warned, looking around the jeep they had rented.

"Kay," Emily said, pushing the snow around with her foot.

She walked around the side of the house and peeked around the corner for any sign of debris. She spotted something white and lumpy leaning against the trunk of a tree, like it was waiting. She stepped closer and noticed it was a doll, a porcelain doll.

"Mommy, look what I found!" she called, grabbing the doll up.

Emily ran back to her mother, holding the doll. "Can I keep it?" she asked.

Her mother took the doll. "It looks expensive, where did you find it?" she asked.

"By a tree," Emily answered.

Her mommy bent down on one knee. "Let's go inside and warm up, your nose is running," she said, wiping Emily's nose with her glove.

Emily nodded and the three of them walked towards the house. She turned and looked back towards the woods.

OOO

"I'm going name you Anastasia," Emily said to the doll, propping it up on a chair.

Sara opened the opened one of the lower cabinets and found a bottle of dishwasher soap; she squirted it into the holder and started the dishwasher. She glanced over at Emily, who had pulled out her toys and sat in front of the fire place, playing with her dolls.

"What's that Anastasia?" Emily asked, leaning her ear closer to the doll.

Sara smiled and wiped her hand on a dishtowel. "Baby, it's time for bed," she said.

Emily brushed the doll's hair out, its blue eyes trained on Sara. "Not yet, she has tangles," Emily said.

Sara came around to sit down beside Emily and brushed her hair back from her face. "I promise you can play with her as soon as you get up," she said, kissing her head.

Emily sighed and Sara took the doll from Emily, placing it in her toy bag. "Can I sleep with you and daddy?" she asked.

"I thought you liked the top bunk," Sara said, picking Emily up as if she weighed nothing and technically she felt like it. Emily had always been small.

"I do, but I want to sleep with you," Emily whined.

"Baby, daddy snores," Sara said.

"I don't care," Emily replied, sleepily.

OOO

Emily had won out and the next morning Gil awoke with her tucked under his arm, finger in mouth. Gil stretched the kinks from his muscles and rolled over to look out at the white snow on the treetops.

"Ow!" he hissed.

He reached behind him and pulled out Emily's new porcelain doll, its arms reaching out for a hug. Its tiny porcelain fingers had scraped the skin on his back, leaving thin lines of blood.


	3. Chapter 3

**_DAY TWO_**

"Honey, I don't know how it got there. Its porcelain so naturally I wouldn't let her bring it to bed even if she did ask," Sara said, dabbing Gil's small scrapes with peroxide.

"It's just a scratch," he replied.

"It just puzzles me how it got there, I remember taking it from her and putting it away," Sara said, lowering Gil's shirt and recapping the peroxide.

"Maybe she got up and brought it to bed," he said.

Sara shrugged. "I guess it doesn't matter."

OOO

"Isn't it a beautiful day, Anastasia?" Emily asked the doll.

The doll looked back with beady blue eyes, its mouth fixed in a permanent smile.

"It _is _rather cold," Emily said.

Emily closed the door of the playhouse that was built into the small play fort and smiled. "There, that'll keep the wind out," she said with a nod.

The doll looked back.

"So, have you got any brothers and sisters?" Emily asked the doll.

The doll looked back.

"I don't either. I want mom to have a baby, but I haven't asked her," Emily said.

The doll looked back.

"No, I don't like onions. Why do you ask?" Emily said.

The doll looked back.

"You like onions on your _pizza_?" Emily asked with wide eyes.

The doll looked back.

"My mommy doesn't eat meat. She says meat isn't real anymore, it's all processed." Emily said.

The doll looked back.

"Yeah, me too," Emily agreed.

OOO

Sara stooped down in the living room and groped for Emily's toys, shoving them into her play bag. She picked up a headless Barbie and sighed. She knelt down, peered under the recliner, and started grouping around for a matching head. She picked one up and saw that it didn't go to a female, but to a Ken doll. She wrinkled her brow and looked under the coffee table. What she pulled out was the torso of a Spanish looking doll.

"You lost all your heads, "She told the headless dolls.

OOO

Gil knocked on the playhouse door and opened it. Emily was sitting in a small chair holding her new doll.

"Hey, want to go to the store with me?" he asked.

"What about Anastasia?" she asked, getting up to go with him.

"Anastasia can come too," he said.

"She doesn't like car rides," Emily said.

Gil put his hand on her back and walked her out. "I don't think she'll mind," he said.

Emily nodded and scooped the doll up; it's brown hair blowing in the wind.

"Why are we going to the store?" she asked.

"We need to get a few things for dinner. Mommy's making fish," he said, taking Emily's small hand and walking towards the jeep. The size of Emily's hand in his reminded him of how small she was.

"Up we go," he said, lifting her up high and placing her on his shoulders.

"Whoa!" Emily squealed as she was lifted up.

The weight of Emily on his shoulder wasn't heavy enough to cause discomfort, she had always been small. Instead it told him there was someone up there; someone depending on him to keep walking and that was something he intended to do.

"Daddy," Emily said, bringing him back to reality. "Can I get some candy?"

Gil smiled. "Of course you can get some candy."

OOO

Gil tossed a twin package of salt and pepper into the basket and pushed the cart down the aisle. The cart had one squeaky wheel and it made the cart bounce a little as he pushed it.

"What kind of fish is mommy making?" Emily asked.

She was sitting in the front seat of the basket, clutching her doll. Her blue eyes were busy examining the shelves of the store.

"Salmon I think. You like Salmon, don't you?" he asked her.

Emily nodded and pointed to a passing shelf. "We need lemon juice," she said.

Gil smiled down at his small daughter. "What would I do without you?" he asked, grabbing a lemon shaped bottle of juice.

They continued their shopping trip, gathering small things they wanted or needed. Gil had grabbed Emily a twelve pack of Kit-Kat bars and they headed towards the register.

"Well, hello again," the cashier said.

Gil looked puzzled for a moment, and then he remembered Sara had taken Emily with her to the store when they had first arrived.

"Hi," Emily greeted with her snaggle-toothed grin.

The cashier smiled. "How's the house?" he asked

"Oh, it's fine," Gil said, not wanting to be rude to the man.

"I guess I met your wife the other day, but I remember this cutie," the cashier said, smiling at Emily and scanning their groceries.

OOO

"D-I-F-F-I-C-U-L-T," Emily said, moving her plastic letters around the face of the refrigerator.

Sara sat on the kitchen floor with Emily, practicing her spelling. They had taken Emily out of school a week before winter break and will be back a week late, so they had been given a list of spelling words and math problems. Sara wasn't really concerned about her daughter's schooling, she had always been smart. She gave credit to the poetry Grissom read to her stomach when she was pregnant.

"Good job, now this is a hard one. Adventure," Sara said, reading from the list.

Emily scrunched up her face and tentatively moved a bright pink 'A' and reached for a 'D' and a 'V'.

"A-D-V-E-N-T-...," she said hesitating.

"AdventURE." Sara said slowly.

Emily slowly reached for a 'C' but pulled back and said the word slowly to herself. Sara could see her brain working on 'Overtime'. Finally, she reached for a 'U and slid it beside the 'T'.

"That's right," Sara praised.

Gil shuffled into the kitchen and knelt down beside them, glancing at the colorful letters. He looked at the word list and picked his own word to spell.

"Dangerous," he said. "D-A-N-J-R-U-S," he misspelling on purpose.

Emily erupted in a fit of giggles. "Daddy, that's not right. It's D-A-N-G-E-R-O-U-,." she said, moving the plastic letters around.

"Wow," Gil said. "That was fast."

"We just had that one," Sara said with a smile.

Emily yawned and rubbed her eyes, the signal for bed time. Gil lifted her up onto his shoulder and carried her up the stairs o her bed.

"Goodnight baby," Sara called.

"Night mommy," came her small reply.

Sara smiled and folded the word list away to stick in her purse. She gathered up stray items that were lying here or there and put them in their place. On her way back to the kitchen she looked down at the plastic letters, they spelled:

"Hello"

"Em?" Sara called, turning around.


	4. Chapter 4

**_DAY THREE_**

**_4: 20 a.m_**

Emily's eyes snapped open and she sat upright in bed, she had to use the bathroom. She rubbed her eyes and looked around.

"Mommy?" she said.

Emily blinked into the darkness and fumbled around for the railing of the bed, she had to go so bad she was going to wet the bed if she didn't hurry. She found the ladder and started her descent, trying to keep her mind off the bogeyman that Uncle Greg told her about. When daddy had caught him telling her about the bogeyman he told him to "shut his mouth" and the bogeyman "wasn't real".

"There's no such thing as the bogeyman," she sang to herself, padding down the hall to the bathroom.

In order to keep her mind off of the bogeyman she made up a song about bunnies and the bogeyman 'not being real', like daddy said.

After she did her bathroom business she hesitated to flush, sometimes the flushing noise scared her in the dark. She shut the lid and crept back to her room, peeking into mommy and daddy's room, contemplating crawling in bed with them.

"All he is fluff and dust," she sang.

She walked back into her room and reached the ladder, wondering if someone was in the bed below her. She blinked into the darkness and shook her head, climbing up into the top bunk.

"There's no such thing as the bogeyman," she finished, crawling under her blanket.

She had asked mommy about the bogeyman once and she had said he was a 'figment', which was the grown up word for 'not real'. She said the bogeyman was made up to scare little kids into minding their parents, back in the olden days before toasters.

"I don't believe in you bogeyman," she said, turning over.

Then she heard it, breathing in the bed below her.

000

"Did you sleep alright, honey?" Sara asked as a sleepy Emily shuffled into the kitchen, doll in tow.

Emily shook her head. "There's someone in my room," she said.

Sara set her daughter on her lap and kissed her head. "Honey, there's no one here but us," she said.

Emily shook her head. "Na uh mommy, I heard them," she said.

Gil set down his newspaper that he had gone into town to buy, and looked Emily in the eye.

"Do you want me to go look?" he asked.

Emily shook her head. "He was gone when I woke up. You have to look_ late_ at night, that's when the bogeyman comes out," she explained.

"I'm going to kick Greg's ass." Gil mumbled to himself.

"Baby, the bogeyman isn't real. We talked about it remember," Sara said.

Emily nodded, she remembered. "I see bogeymen on television though. They're big and green, with long fangs and they wear hoods." she said, describing the bogeyman.

Gil sighed and scratched his beard. "How about I look tonight-"

"_Late _tonight," Emily added.

"_Late _tonight and right now you can eat your Lucky Charms," he finished.

000

Emily sat cross-legged in the living room, brushing her Barbie's hair. She had placed her doll in the rocking chair across from her.

"Speak louder Anastasia," Emily said.

The doll stared back.

"I love my Barbie," she said, putting the little pink brush down.

The doll stared back.

"Daddy brought me this one from New York," she said, pulling a cheerleader Barbie out of her bag. "He was gone for a long time and I cried and cried."

The doll stared back.

"This one is from Aunt Caprine," she said, pulling a Ken doll out of her bag. "She said Barbie needs a boyfriend."

The doll stared back.

"The bogeyman is _not _real," she protested.

The doll stared back.

"I'll be right back," she said getting up to leave.

000

"It's so pretty out here," Sara said, sipping from her mug of coffee.

Gil and Sara had left Emily inside with her toys and were sitting on the porch. Gil was reading a book, nodding along to anything Sara said.

"I plan on running away with another man," Sara said testing his response.

Gil nodded, turned the page in his book and quickly did a double take.

"What?" he asked.

Sara laughed. "I was just seeing if you were listening," she said.

"I'm listening now!" he said with laughing eyes.

"I love you, I think this is wonderful," she said.

"I love you too, do you think Emily's having fun?" he asked.

Sara nodded. "She's keeping to herself a lot though," she said.

Gil stood up and went to sit beside her on the porch swing. "She's like us. She just likes her alone time," he said.

Sara smiled and kissed husband deeply. "Why don't we go to town for lunch?" she suggested.

Gil nodded and kissed her again. "Sounds good," he said.

They stood together and headed towards the door. Gil stopped a moment and wrinkled his forehead.

"Gil, what's that smell?" Sara asked rushing into the house.

"Emily!" Gil called.

The fire in the fireplace was blazing out of control and Emily was nowhere to be seen. Sara rushed into the kitchen and grabbed the first liquid item she could find, their container of milk. She ran to the fire place while Gil looked for Emily.

"Emily Grissom!" he shouted.

He opened the bathroom door and saw Emily washing her hands. She looked up when she saw her father and smiled. He grasped her firmly by the arm and walked her into the living room.

"Did you put something in the fireplace!?" he asked.

Emily shook her head. "No daddy, I'm not supposed to," she said.

Sara had put the fire out and pulled Emily's toy bag out. She opened it and it contained the melted remains of her Barbie dolls.

"How did this get in there?" Sara asked her, firmly.

Emily shook her head. "I didn't do it."

Gil knelt down to look her in the eye. "Well, mommy and I were on the porch and I don't see anybody else in here but you!" he said.

"I said I didn't!" Emily screamed.

Sara walked the bag into the kitchen and set the bag in the sink. "All your Barbies are ruined," she said.

Emily sniffed and a tear rolled down her cheek. "I didn't do it!" she cried.

"Emily, don't you lie to us! I have a right mind to spank you, fire is extremely dangerous!" Gil said loudly.

Emily was now sobbing and stomping her foot. "I said I didn't! You don't believe me because I'm a kid!" she screamed.

"Okay," Sara said, holding hand up to silence them. "Emily calm down, you're going to be sick."

"He doesn't care!" she cried. "He wouldn't care if the bogeyman ate me up!"

Emily gasped suddenly and bent over. Sara hurried over and Gil put his hands on Emily's shoulders. Her face had grown pale and she looked terrified.

"Get her inhaler!" Gil shouted to Sara.

Gil picked up Emily and laid her on the couch. "Daddy's so sorry, I was just scared." he said.

"Here," Sara said, handing him Emily's medicine bag.

"Here, breathe in," Gil said, puffing the inhaler into her mouth.

Emily coughed and took a deep breath.

"Give her another puff," Sara said.

Gil nodded and puffed the inhaler again. He lifted her up onto his shoulder and rubbed her back.

"I'm so sorry, bumblebee," he said.

Emily pushed back and reached for Sara, who took her without a second thought. Gil sat shocked, Emily never pushed him away.

"Baby, daddy's sorry. Fires dangerous and-" he started.

Sara stood up with Emily. "Let's discuss it later," she said, leaving the room.

000

Gil paced the kitchen, debating whether to go to Emily and Sara or to wait until everybody cooled off. He didn't mean to lose his temper, when he saw the fire he panicked and immediately feared the worst. Emily was his heart and his outburst of anger was out of being terrified. He always pampered her and took her on trips with him whenever he could, he knew his behavior had hurt and it may have even frightened her.

"Gil, just take a breath," he told himself.

He sighed and looked at the refrigerator where Emily's magnets were, he did a double-take at what they spelled out:

"BAD DADDY"

Gil closed his eyes and looked again, but the words were still there. Gil shook his head and mixed the letters up.

000

Sara sat curled up in bed with a sleeping Emily in her arms. Gil had never thundered at Emily like he had, and she attributed it fear. They had both panicked when they saw the fire, afraid that Emily was either burned or having an asthma attack somewhere.

"Is she alright?" Gil asked, opening the door.

Sara swiveled her eyes to him and nodded. "She's upset, but she's alright," she answered.

Gil sat down on the edge of the bed and sighed. "I was just scared," he said.

"I know you were, I was scared too. We need more milk, by the way," she said, trying to lighten the situation.

Gil nodded. "I'll go get some. Do you think if I brought back a happy meal, I'd be a good daddy again?" he said.

Sara smiled. "You are a good daddy; a bad daddy would have just stood there. I think it will help." she said.

Gil leaned up and kissed his daughter softly on the head and then his wife.

"Gil, you're a _very _good father." Sara said with a smile.


	5. Chapter 5

Gil stood in front of a candy display picking out candy, attempting to buy his way into Emily's good graces. In his mind her cries of 'I said I didn't do it' played over and over again. Inside he wondered if she didn't, but there wasn't anybody else in the house. He remembered when she had started her Barbie fad; asking for a new Barbie every few weeks or so. When he had gone to New York for an entomology seminar Emily had gotten Chicken Pox, and he had to leave her and Sara at home. When he left for the airport that day Emily screamed and cried, begging for him to come back and get her; it broke his heart to have to walk out and leave. When he came home she was so glad to see him that she stayed in his arms for days, hugging the Barbie he had brought her to her chest. He found it hard to believe that she had tossed it into a fireplace, but what else was there to think.

"Uh oh," the old cashier said, looking down at the candy bars Gil had set on the counter.

"Yeah, I have some making up to do," Gil replied, handing the cashier his debit card.

The cashier smiled. "Little girls are like that," he said.

"Yes they are," Gil agreed.

"That reminds me to ask that doll she had the other day; do you know where she got it?" he asked, running Gil's card.

Gil shrugged. "She found it somewhere."

The cashier nodded. "That doll once belonged to a little girl who used to live in that house. The strange thing is I see other little girls with it," he said.

Gil chewed on his lip and turned this over in his mind. "Perhaps they just leave it behind," he said.

"Maybe," the cashier said, handing Gil his bag.

000

"Mommy?" Emily said, rubbing her eyes.

Sara opened her eyes and softly stroked Emily hair. "What baby?" she asked groggily.

"I didn't do it," she said.

Sara sat up and pulled Emily into her arms. "Baby, there wasn't anybody else in the house,"

Emily snuggled into her mother, breathing in the smell that she always associated with her; a combination of flowers and soap.

"I _know, _but I didn't." she said.

Sara sighed and hugged her small body. "Okay," she simply said.

There was the sound of a slamming car door and Sara smiled down at her. "Daddy's back. I think he has something for you," she said.

Emily shook her head. "He's mad at me," she said.

Sara stood up and tugged Emily along with her. "Daddy wasn't mad about the Barbies, he was angry because he thought you were playing with fire. He doesn't want anything to happen to you," she said.

Emily nodded and walked downstairs with hr mother.

000

Her daddy had never yelled at _her_ like that before. She had seen him yell at mommy, Uncle Greg, and over the phone; but never at her.

"Hi bumblebee," daddy said, closing the front door.

"Hi daddy," Emily replied softly.

Mommy took his bags and walked them into the kitchen. Daddy sat down on the steps, pulling Emily into his lap.

"I love you," he said, kissing her head.

"I love you daddy," she said softly.

"I'm sorry I yelled, but I was terrified that you were hurt," he said, hugging her to him.

"I didn't play with the fire, daddy," she said.

Daddy sighed. " I brought you a happy meal," he said, trying his best to put the subject behind them.

He stood up and carried her into the kitchen with him. Mommy had her happy meal all set out for her and had fixed herself a tomato and mayonnaise sandwich. Emily had never liked mayonnaise, it tasted like mud and felt gross went it went down her throat.

"I don't understand how you can eat those disgusting sandwiches," daddy said, setting Emily down in her chair.

Mommy smiled. "It's better than that processed meat you two are eating," she said.

Daddy sat down beside Emily, opened his cheeseburger, and smiled. "Baby, you don't know what you're missing," he said.

Mommy laughed. "Sure," she said, biting into her sandwich.

"How about we go horseback riding tomorrow?" Daddy said.

Emily set down her chicken nugget and beamed. "Can we!?" she asked

Daddy smiled. "You bet," he said.

000

"Well, if you ask me I don't think she did it," Sara said, slipping under the comforter.

"I want to believe it too," Gil said. "But she was the only one in here."

Sara stared at the ceiling and listened to sound of Gil brushing his teeth.

_Brush. Gargle. Spit. Repeat._

"I just find it hard to believe that she would do that; she loved her dolls," she said.

Gil stopped mid brush. "Sara if you take her away, who else is there?" he asked.

Sara looked down at the blanket. "Nobody." she replied softly.

Gil spit into the sink and ran the faucet. "Unless you think there's somebody else here. If that's what you think, I'll get dressed and go to the police," he said.

Sara shook her head. "I've been spooked out a few times, but I don't think there is somebody else here," she said.

Gil tapped he toothbrush on the sink and switched the bathroom light off. "Let's just try to forget about it," he said.

Sara shook her head. "I just don't think she would do a thing like that," she said.

Gil sat down on the bed and shrugged slightly. "Maybe it's a cry for attention. This is the first time we've been around her this much and she's been by herself a lot. Maybe we should spend more time with her."

Sara rolled onto her side and nodded. "Maybe," she said.

OOO

**_DAY FOUR_**

"This is Patty." Jenifer Johnson said, leading a black horse out of a stall.

"Wow!" Emily exclaimed, rushing up to the horse.

Gil reached out and grasped Emily's hand. "Don't go to close right now," he warned.

"Patty's gentle." Jenifer said, stroking the horses black mane.

Sara stroked the horse's nose and smiled. "He's beautiful," she commented.

"He's a prize winner. He's won three first place ribbons," Jenifer said with a smile.

Emily smiled and looked up at Gil. "Daddy have you ever ridden a horse?" she asked.

Gil nodded. "When I was a kid, but it's been a while," he said.

"I reckon you better take the little one on Patty," Jenifer said, putting a saddle on the horse.

"How far back do the trails go?" Sara asked.

"They go pretty far, but they circle around and end here at the stalls," Jenifer answered.

"I want to ride with Daddy," Emily said.

Despite the incident yesterday, Emily had started her day eating breakfast in her father's lap. Sara could see doubt still lingering in Gil's eyes, but he didn't press the issue.

"Of course you can ride with daddy," Gil said.

"Mrs. Grissom you can ride Brownie. He's not brown, but he's sweet like a brownie," Jenifer said.

Gil put his foot into one of the stirrups and hoisted himself up onto the horse. The horse snorted and trotted backwards.

"He likes to ride, he's eager," Jenifer said.

Sara picked Emily up and handed her to Gil. It wasn't difficult picking Emily up, she had always been small.

Gil set her in front of him and let her hold the reins. "You drive," he said with a smile.

Emily's blue eyes widened until they were as big as saucers. "I'm driving a _real _horse," she said.

Sara waited until Jenifer had secured the saddle on her horse, then she mounted it. Brownie let out a neigh and stomped his foot on the ground.

"Brownie's my newest so if he tries to go a little fast, just pull back on the reins and he'll let up. These horses know the trail and everybody here, so you'll be as safe as can be. Brownie's a lot younger, but it shouldn't make a big difference," Jenifer said.

Sara patted her hose's neck and smiled. "I'm sure we'll be fine." she said.

"Well, then I'll be inside. When you're done just come and knock on the door,." Jenifer said, turning to head back to her house.

Gil clicked his tongue and the horses trotted off into the woods.

"We're going!" Emily laughed.

000

"Daddy, are there for _real _flying horses?" Emily asked.

Gil shook his head. "They haven't found any yet," he replied.

"What about unicorns?" Emily asked innocently.

Gil chewed his lip and thought about his answer. "There has been some proof that unicorns exist. Even in the bible they talk about unicorns and dragons. I guess they kind of died out."

"Poor unicorns," she said.

"A lot of animals died out," Sara added. "The dodo bird died out, and if this world isn't careful we could loosed our pandas."

Emily yawned. "I love pandas," she said.

"How long have we been riding?" Sara asked.

Gil looked at his watch. "About an hour; we should be seeing the stalls again soon," he said.

"Did you have fun on the horse?" Sara asked Emily.

Emily nodded. "Yeah, I can't wait to show Melissa the pictures." she said.

"I see the stalls just up ahead," Gil said, pointing ahead.

"Daddy can we run?" Emily asked.

"I don't know baby, galloping might be a little dangerous," he said.

"I'll hang on." Emily pleaded.

Sara smiled. "Just gallop with her the rest of the way, I'll keep walking," she said.

Gil nodded. "Okay, hold on," he said to Emily.

Gil wrapped a strong arm around his daughter and pressed his heels into the sides of the horse. The horse broke out into a run and Emily squealed with laughter. Soon Gil's horse went over a hill and Sara was alone in the woods.

"Come on Brownie, let's get back." she said, patting the horse on the neck.

The sound of a snapping twig made the horse stop and trot backwards. Sara panicked for a moment, but Brownie began to walk ahead again.

"It's okay big boy, let's get home." she soothed to the horse.

The woods were eerily quiet as the horse walked ahead. Sara strained her ears for the sound of birds, but didn't hear any. Finally, the horse walked over a hill and Sara could see Gil climbing off his horse and Emily waving back at her. Sara waved back and patted the horse's neck again.

"Home free," she said.

Brownie stopped again and pricked his ears forward. He let out a loud neigh and stood up on his two back legs. Sara clutched the horse's neck as tight as she could, but when the horses brought its two front feet down Sara flew over the horse's head and landed with a thud. Sara rolled over on her back just in time to see the horse rear up again and bring its front feet right down beside her head. She could nearly see her reflection in the horse's hoofs.

"Sara!" she heard Gil scream behind her.

Brownie backed up again and took off towards the stalls, his feet pounding away. Sara sat up slowly and winced. She brought her hand up to her head and felt a long gash on her forehead and when she looked at her hand it was covered in dark red blood. She looked down at the ground and groaned when she saw the blood covered rock.

"Sara!" Gil screamed again, closer this time.

Sara turned her head and saw Gil running as fast he could towards her. She placed her hands on the ground and struggled to stand, but her world began to swim in front of her eyes. She fell back to the ground with a thud and spots danced in front of her eyes. Gil reached her and pushed her hair back, examining the gash on her head.

"Can you see me? Can you move your legs?" he asked desperately.

Sara nodded. "I'm to dizzy to stand," she said.

"Don't try to," he said.

"Mrs. Grissom, I'm so sorry," Jenifer said, rushing up to them.

"He was good along the way, he just freaked out," Sara said.

"Is there a doctor in town? I need to get her to a doctor," Gil said, feeling Sara's neck.

"Yes," Jenifer answered. "I'll take you there."

Gil picked Sara up in his arms and they walked quickly to Jenifer's truck.

000

"You got a pretty deep gash. You're lucky your skull isn't cracked," Dr. Evans said, picking rock fragments out of the wound.

Sara was still to dizzy to sit up, so she was lying on the examining table. Gil was holding onto her hand, for someone to say he was worried was an understatement.

"She's going to be fine, right?" Gil asked.

Dr. Evans nodded. "She's going to be fine, but I want to stress how lucky you are. Her neck could have easily snapped. She has a concussion and I need to suture her up. But she'll be fine." he said.

"Thank you." Gil said.

Dr. Evans wet a towel with peroxide and dabbed at the gash. Sara winced and jumped involuntarily.

"I need you to stay still, Sara," Dr. Evans said.

"Sorry," she whispered.

"You don't have anything to be sorry about, it was an accident," Gil replied.

Sara closed her eyes. "I know."

000

"Does it hurt, mommy?" Emily asked.

"Not right now. I took some medicine," Sara answered.

Gil walked into the room and handed Sara a bowl of tapioca and a spoon. "Do you want to go home?" he asked.

Sara shook her head softly. "We'll be fine," she said.

"Did it hurt when they put the stitches in?" Emily asked.

"A little bit," Sara replied.

Gil looked at his watch. "Em, do you want to help me make dinner?" Gil said, standing.

Emily licked her lips and nodded. "Yep," she replied.

Gil kissed Sara softly on the head and smiled. "Any requests?" he asked.

Sara smiled and shook her head. "Surprise me," she said.

000

After Emily had eaten dinner and she had her bath, daddy tucked her into bed. Instead of sleeping on the top bunk, she started to sleep on the bottom bunk. She told daddy it was because she was afraid to climb down, but she was really afraid of the bogeyman hiding in the bottom bed.

"Daddy?" she asked, as he was leaving the room.

Daddy stopped and turned to her. "What, baby?" he asked.

"Can you check for the bogeyman?" she asked, clutching Anastasia tighter.

Daddy nodded. "Of course I will. Where are his hiding places?" he asked.

Emily shrugged. "He hides all over," she said.

Daddy scratched his beard and walked over to the closet. He opened the door and snapped on the light

"I don't see him in here," he said, looking around the tiny closet.

"Sometimes he hides under the bed," Emily said.

Daddy walked over to the bed and got on his knees, peering under the bed.

"He's not here either," he said, getting up.

"What if he shows up?" she asked.

Daddy kissed Emily on the head and smiled. "If he shows up, you come and get me," he said.

000

"We may have company later," Gil said, sliding into bed beside Sara.

Sara looked over at Gil and smiled. "And why is that?" she asked.

Gil pulled her to him and kissed her head softly. "I had to do a monster search," he replied.

"You didn't find any did you?" she asked with a laugh.

Gil shook his head. "No, but she's sleeping on the bottom bunk tonight," he replied.

Sara put her arm around Gil and sighed. "I didn't like the top bunk anyways. I had nightmares of her falling out," she said.

"I think it's because she's afraid. She's not scared of her bed at home," Gil said.

Sara shrugged. "We'll, I guess it's still new for her," she said.

Gil nodded. "That's probably it."

000

**_DAY FIVE_**

_2:00 am_

Emily snapped her eyes open and sat up. She had heard something this time, she was sure of it. She pulled her blanket up over her head and buried herself underneath it. Her nightmare had been so realistic; she could still feel the snow on her bare feet.

"Daddy," She whispered loudly.

Silence answered back, and Emily was afraid. There was something in the dark, waiting on her to get out of bed. Emily remember one day when Uncle Greg and Uncle Nick had been over and they were watching TV. She was supposed to be asleep, but the TV had been too loud. She crept out of her room and peeked around the corner just in time to see a hand on TV grab someone and pull them under the bed. She rushed back to her room and hid under the blankets until her parents came home. Her room at home didn't scare her because her daddy had a gun, and he would kill the monsters. This place was different, it wasn't her home. It was somebody else's.


	6. Chapter 6

Sara rolled over in bed and snuggled closer to her husband.

"Baby, you're cold," Sara said, pulling the blanket around them.

Gil didn't speak. Sara poked him in the ribs and felt wetness; she pulled back her hand and gasped.

"Gil?' she said, shaking him.

Sara opened her hand and stared at the blood that peppered her palm. She threw off the blanket and screamed when she saw the deep wounds in Gil's chest; blood oozed up and soaked the sheets. Gil's eyes were wide open and fixed.

"Baby!" Sara cried, putting her hand on his cheek.

A sudden noise behind her made her turn. She saw a figure in a heavy coat standing with a crowbar. It raised it high and brought it down on her head. Sara bolted upright and gasped. She looked to her left and to her right, but she saw no hooded figure with a crowbar. She looked over at Gil and pulled the blanket back. She saw mo blood.

"What's wrong?" Gil asked groggily.

Sara shook her head and covered him back up. "Nothing," she said.

Her nightmare had been so real; she could still feel Gil's warm blood on the palm of her hand. She hadn't had a vivid nightmare like that in years.

"Just a dream," she said to herself, rubbing the bandage that covered the wound on her head.

She groped on the bedside dresser for the light switch and turned the light on. The lamp's soft glow filled the room. She opened the bottle of pain pills that rested on the bedside table and dry swallowed a pill.

"Calm down," she told herself.

She stood up carefully and padded into the hall, it was dark and quiet. No hooded figure was waiting.

"Sara, are you alright?" Gil asked.

"I'm fine," she said, turning to get back in bed.

000

When Gil walked downstairs the next morning he was surprised to find Emily sitting at the kitchen table, holding her porcelain doll.

"Sweetie, how long have you been awake?" he asked.

Emily shrugged. "I woke up early. I couldn't sleep," she said.

Gil started the coffee pot and fixed Emily a bowl of cereal. "Is your room alright?" he asked.

Emily blinked and shook her head. "Daddy, there's someone in there," she said.

Gil set her bowl of cereal in front of his daughter and sighed. "Baby, I looked in your room. I didn't find anyone," he said.

"They wait daddy, they wait until you go to sleep," she said.

"Why didn't you come get me?" he said.

Emily looked her father dead in the eye. "I was afraid he would get me," she admitted.

"Baby, I'm not going to let anybody get you," he said.

Emily put down her spoon and climbed into her father's lap. She wrapped her small arms around his neck and started to cry.

"I don't want the bogeyman to get me," she sniffed.

Gil wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head. "He won't," he said. "I promise."

000

"Mommy, can we feed it?" Emily asked, looking at the black and white cat that sat outside the front door.

Sara chewed her lip and shook her head. "You know daddy won't let us," she said.

Emily poked her lip out. "But I think its hungry," she said.

Sara knelt down and looked at the cat through the door. "I guess we can give it some tuna," she said.

"Yes!" Emily said, taking off towards the kitchen.

Sara stood up slowly and followed her daughter to fix the cat's dinner. She loved all animals, but she was wary of animal dandruff. Even their dog at home, Hank, had to be given baths so that he didn't irritate Emily too much. Her medication helped her breathe, but they kept as many irritants away from her as possible.

"Em, daddy said you had a nightmare last night. You know, I had one too," Sara said, opening the can of tuna.

Emily shook her head. "It was real," she said.

"Mine was very real, I was upset when I woke up," she said, looking down at her daughter.

"What did you dream?" Emily asked.

Sara hesitated. "I dreamed daddy was hurt. And then I got hurt," she said.

Emily shook her head. "Nobody can hurt daddy, he's strong," she said.

Sara nodded. "Daddy is strong. And you know, if what you see in your room is real. Just scream and daddy will be there. Nothing can hurt you here," she said.

Emily nodded. "Mommy, why don't you have a baby?" she asked.

Sara was taken aback for a moment. "You really do like to change the subject, don't you?" she asked with a smile.

Emily shrugged. "I just wanted to know. I would like a baby brother," she said.

Sara wiped a tear away before Emily saw it, trying for a baby was another reason why they had taken this trip. They had been trying for a few years, but it didn't seem to be working for them; they were hoping a vacation would relax their bodies enough.

"Let's get this kitty some food, huh?" Sara said.

000

Gil walked around the house to the wood pile and started to select pieces of wood for the wood box. In his head he kept seeing Sara fly over the head of the horse and fall to the ground. His heart had jumped into his throat when he heard her hit the ground, and he was certain she had been seriously hurt. He blamed it on himself, if had been there to calm her horse then she wouldn't have gotten hurt. He attributed it to an accident at the time, but a lot of accidents seemed to be happening lately.

"_I don't want the bogeyman to get me,"_ Emily had cried, her small body shaking with sobs.

000

"Hey, come look what I found!" Gil called to Sara and Emily.

The two girls stood, leaving the cat on the porch with its bowl of food, and followed the sound of his voice. They rounded the corner and saw him standing by the side of the house.

"What is it daddy?" Emily asked.

"It think I found some old slaves quarters." he said.

Sara smiled down at Emily. "Let's go look. That means this house is really old," she said.

"What's that?" Emily asked.

"Back in the olden days, house slaves used to sleep under the house. It was a long time ago, and slavery doesn't exist anymore. Thank God," Sara answered.

Emily nodded. "We learned about the slaves in school," she said. "It was so mean."

They slowly climbed down a steep staircase and into a dark basement. Sara looked up and she could see faint lines of lamplight.

"We're under the house," she told Gil.

Gil nodded. "We'll come back tomorrow with flashlights tomorrow and look around," he said as they walked back up the stairs.

000

Sara sliced a tomato for the salad and looked over at Gil, who was preparing the macaroni casserole.

"What's bothering you?" he asked.

Sara shook her head and went back to cutting tomato. "Em asked about a baby brother today," she said.

Gil nodded. "What did you tell her?" he asked.

Sara sat down her knife and looked out at the snow. It had begun to fall around noon and was picking up speed.

"I didn't tell her anything," she said.

Gil wiped his hands on a dishtowel and walked over to stand beside her. "You know it takes some time," he whispered.

Sara wiped a tear away and smiled. "Yeah, we'll its taken nearly two years. You'd think that would be enough time," she said.

Gil kissed her on top of her head and sighed. "It'll happen," he said.

Sara nodded and decided to change the subject. The 'Baby discussions' almost always led to a fight.

"I'm going to put carrot in the salad, Em could use some more in her diet," she said, turning to grab a carrot.

000

"I don't want to talk right now?" Emily said to her doll.

The doll only stared back with blue, beady eyes.

"Cause I don't want to. You scare me sometimes." she said to the doll.

The doll looked back.

"I'm going to sleep with my mommy and daddy tonight. I want you to stay in the bag," she said.

The doll looked back.

"I miss my Barbies," she sighed.

Emily pulled her bag out from under the table and unzipped it. She picked up the doll and dropped it in the bag. Its face stared up at her as she zipped it shut.

"Come eat, Em?" Mommy called.

"Stay in there tonight," she told the bag.

000

After Emily had fallen asleep in bed beside Gil, Sara redressed her bandage and headed downstairs to clean the kitchen. As she passed the refrigerator she glanced at the colorful magnets.

"I love you."

Sara smiled at the magnets and bent down and arranged them to form a reply:

"You too."

OOO

**DAY SIX**

_3:00 am_

Emily snuggled closer to her father and closed her eyes, trying to fall back into dream land. She was lying between her mommy and daddy and felt safer, but there was still something that scared her.

"Who are you?" she whispered into the dark.

A loud creak sounded through the house and Emily saw a figure move past the window. Emily buried her head into her father's chest and screamed as loud as she could. Her daddy woke with a start and quickly turned his light on.

"What!?" he asked, picking Emily up and holding her in his arms.

"There was something in here! It was watching me!" she cried.

Mommy turned on her lamp and looked at the clock. "Honey, are you sure you saw somebody?" she asked.

"I'm not lying! I promise!" Emily sobbed.

Daddy handed her to mommy and stood up. "I'll go look, alright," he soothed to Emily.

Emily shook her head. "He'll get you!" she screamed.

Mommy kissed her forehead. "Baby, it's going to be alright. Daddy's going to look."

"Don't look! Stay in here!" Emily cried.

"Alright honey, calm down. I'll look inside the room and I'll lock the door. I won't leave." he said.

Daddy checked under the bed and in the closet, but the monster she saw wasn't there. He walked over to the bathroom and checked the shower and bathroom closet as well.

"Okay, now I'll lock our door. There's no one here," daddy said, shutting the bedroom door.

Emily's cries began to quiet down and mommy kissed her head softly again. "Sweetie, where was he standing?" she asked.

Emily sniffled. "He was by the window." she said.

Daddy took her in his arms and rocked her gently. "Baby, no one's here. If there was someone here, he's gone." he said.

"No he's not," Emily replied.


	7. Chapter 7

It took both Gil and Sara hours to get Emily calmed down, and she didn't fall asleep until it was nearly dawn. Reluctantly, she had curled up with Sara on the couch and drifted back to sleep.

"Gil, this is out of control. She was hysterical," Sara said, slipping away from Emily and draping a blanket over her.

Gil nodded. "I know, I don't what to do. Do we need to leave?" he asked.

Sara shook her head. "I don't want to," she shrugged. "But maybe it'll be best if we do."

Gil sighed. "Does she have a fever? Maybe she's sick," Gil said.

Sara placed the back of her hand against Emily's forehead and sighed. "She doesn't feel warm," she said.

Gil poured himself a mug of coffee and stared out the kitchen window. "She was terrified," he said softly.

"Gil, what if she did see somebody. I mean, maybe there is somebody snooping around," Sara said.

"You think there is somebody in the house?" Gil asked.

Sara shook her head. "I don't think so, but what about somebody outside. Maybe she saw a shadow," she said, smoothing Emily's hair back to look at her daughters sleeping face.

Gil set his mug of coffee down on the counter and scratched his beard. "I don't know, maybe she had a bad dream and woke up scarred," he replied.

Sara sighed. "I need to lie down, " she said.

Gil nodded. "Me too, let's take her back to our bed and rest for a while," he said.

When the family had relaxed in bed again, and Sara had drifted off to sleep, Gil turned the night's events over in his memory. The way Emily had clung to him, her small body shaking with fear, would no doubt haunt his dreams as he slept. As Gil drifted back to sleep, his arm snuggly wrapped around Emily, he took notice of the porcelain doll that was sitting on his night stand.

000

Sara felt Emily stir and she snapped her eyes open. She quickly sat up and found Emily starring wide-eyed at the doll that was sitting upright on the night stand.

"Do you want your doll, sweetie?" Sara asked.

Emily shook her head and turned her face away from it. "Mommy, I'm hungry?" she said.

Sara smiled. "We have lucky charms left, do you want me to fix you a bowl?" she asked.

Emily nodded and held her arms out to be picked up, something she didn't do unless she was sick or upset.

"Emily, you're starting to get too heavy for me," Sara said, lifting her up.

Sara made her way downstairs with Emily in her arms; she took the stairs carefully and was careful not to trip. She looked at the clock on the wall in the living room and noticed it was noon.

"Baby, why don't we talk about what you saw last night?" Sara said, sitting Emily down in a chair.

"Mommy, there was somebody there for _real_," Emily said.

Sara grabbed the box of cereal and started preparing a bowl. "I know, but I don't understand why we haven't seen him yet," she said.

Emily shrugged. "Maybe the boogeyman doesn't like grownups," she said.

Sara set the bowl in front of Emily and sighed. "Honey there is no such thing as the boogeyman, I promise. He's make-believe," she said.

Emily shook her head and picked a marshmallow out of her bowl. "No he's not, he was there. He wants me to play with that dumb doll all the time," she said.

"The doll you found? I can throw it out if you want," Sara said.

Emily shook her head. "That'll make him mad," she warned.

Sara smoothed Emily's hair back and smiled. "Daddy and I will worry about that," she said.

000

Somehow, Sara had gotten Emily to relax and watch cartoons. She was actually relieved that she was able to get rid of the porcelain doll, she didn't like how its eyes seemed to follow you around the room.

"It was nice knowing you," Sara said to the doll. "But you freak us out."

She lifted the lid of the dumpster and tossed the doll inside. It landed with a thud and Sara swore she could feel its eyes watching her as she shut the lid.

000

"Okay Em when you get on the sled you have to make sure nothing is hanging loose," Gil explained, setting Emily on the sled.

Emily nodded and gripped the sides of the sled. She was so bundled up that she looked like an Eskimo.

"Okay, here we go," Gil said, taking his place behind the sled.

He started to gently push the sled down the hill and then picked up speed. He jumped onto the back of the sled and held Emily with one strong arm.

"Whoa!" Emily laughed as the sled zipped down the driveway.

000

Sara heard Emily's laughter from inside the house and hurried to the front window so she could watch the sled. It came to a stop at the bottom of the steep driveway and Gil climbed off the back and pulled it up the hill again. Sara had asked him not to mention what had happened during the night, and that she had taken care of it. Simply having the doll out of the house seemed to lighten Emily's mood.

"Thank God," Sara muttered, turning back to the kitchen.

She grabbed the macaroni out of the cabinet and went to work making Macaroni Salad. It was a favorite of Emily's and Gil usually put bacon in his and Emily's. Since Sara didn't eat meat, she just let Gil fry the bacon himself. She didn't have a problem with him or Emily eating bacon, just as long as they didn't try to make her eat any. She knew meat had vitamins that children needed as they grew up.

"_Don't worry…about a thing…cause every little thing is gonna be alright," _She sang as she prepared supper.

She looked down at the refrigerator and smiled. She figured all of the notes that had been appearing on the face of the refrigerator had been Gil goofing off, so each one brought a smile to her face, it said:

"Yur beatiful."

Sara knelt in front of the refrigerator and carefully arranged the colorful letters to form a response. Since the letters didn't come with an apostrophe, 'You're' looked like 'Yur'.

"Yur Handsome"

000

"Okay baby bug, how about we go in and get something eat," Gil said, wiping Emil's small red nose with his gloved hand.

Emily nodded. "That was fun, we went _so _fast," she said with a laugh.

Gil picked up the sled and grasped his daughter's small hand. "Yeah, we sure did. Hey Em, I want to talk about what happened last night… or this morning rather," he said.

Emily wiped her nose with her hand. "Daddy, he _was _there. You just didn't see him," she said.

"Is he a real person or is he just make-believe?" Gil asked.

"Daddy, you _and _mommy said he's make-believe, but he's real," Emily replied.

Gil sighed. "Okay, mommy and I talked about and we decided that if he's still here at the end of the week, then we'll go home," he said.

Emily nodded. "I do miss my bed sometimes," she said.

When they reached the front porch, Gil saw Emily into the house and turned towards the back so that he could put the sled away. It was on his way back that he noticed the footprints. At first he thought they were his own, but after years of starring at your feet you kind of recognize your own shoe size.

"Hello," he called as he opened the door to the shed.

He looked down and he noticed a faint red smudge in the snow. He panicked and looked around for a wounded animal that was perhaps hiding in the shed, but instead he found an ordinary cat; the same cat that Emily and Sara had been feeding tuna. From the way it had been wounded, one might assume that it had been attacked by a wild animal. But as Gil looked closer, he saw the definite wounds made by a axe.

000

"Where's daddy?" Sara asked as Emily unbuttoned her coat.

"He's putting the sled away," Emily answered, pulling her coat off and letting it drop to the floor.

"I heard you laughing outside, did you have fun?" Sara asked, picking the coat up and hanging it in the closet.

"Yes," Emily replied with a giggle. "We went so fast."

"I'm glad. Do you want to help mommy set the table?' Sara asked.

Emily nodded and ran to set the plates out in three spots, her plate always beside her father's.

"I love Macaroni Salad," she said, licking her lips.

The door opened a moment later and Gil walked in. "That smells great," he said.

000

After she had eaten, Emily took a bath with her mommy. She liked taking a bath with her more than she liked taking one alone, because mommy let her wash her hair sometimes. The bathtub at this house was a lot bigger than the one she had in her bathroom at home, her head was nearly underwater if mommy filled it up all the way. Mommy was fun in the bathtub; sometimes she would put bubbles on her face, pretend like she was Santa Clause, and say 'Ho Ho Ho'. It made Emily laugh every time. That night mommy and daddy let her sleep in their bed again, and for the first time since she had arrived Emily slept. She drifted off to the sound of her daddy snoring and didn't wake up until morning.


	8. Chapter 8

**_DAY SEVEN_**

**_4: 00 am_**

"_Mommy hurry!" Emily called as she ran through the woods._

"_Emily wait!" Sara called, pushing tree branches out of her way._

_The white snow squished under Sara's boots and the air was bitter cold, she could see her breath in the form of a puffy cloud as she exhaled._

"_Mommy, it's just up over here," Emily said as they reached a clearing._

"_What is honey?" Sara asked._

"_It's under here," Emily replied, getting on her hands and knees to peer at something._

_It was then that Sara heard the loud _Crack_ and then she realized they were standing on top of a frozen lake. Sara grasped Emily firmly by the arm in an attempt to pull her off the ice, but Emily struggled._

"_Mommy, you have to see it!" she cried._

"_Em we need to get off the ice, it's dangerous," Sara said firmly._

_Sara slipped on the ice and fell onto her shoulder. She heard a sicken crack and she knew she had broken it. Emily scurried back over to her place on top of the ice and peered down once again. Sara was horrified to see the cracks in the ice that began to spread around her daughter, as if it were a hand closing its fist around the child._

"_Emily! Get back!" Sara said as she struggled to stand._

_Emily didn't have time to answer. As she stood up on her knees to look back at Sara the ice underneath her gave way and she fell into the icy lake._

"_Emily!" Sara screamed as she limped over to the hole. She saw Emily reach her hand up out of the water and Sara grouped for it. _

"_Mommy's got you!" she cried, pulling Emily by her arm._

_However, instead of pulling a child out of the icy water she pulled out a doll… the same doll that she had attempted to get rid of. Its icy blues starred back up at her and for a moment she could swear the doll was smiling at her._

Sara bolted out of bed expecting to find herself in the cold forest, but was relieved to find that she was still in her bed. To her left, Emily and Gil slept peacefully. She reached over and turned on the lamp that rested on the bedside table and fumbled for her pain medication. She had a splitting headache and the realistic dream she had just had didn't help her relax much.

"Thank God it was a dream," she said, placing her hand on her chest.

Underneath night-shirt, Sara could feel her heart pounding. The ice in the dream had been so vivid that she could still feel the coldness in her bones, not to mention the fact that the doll and it's piercing eyes. She was half tempted to go open the dumpster and see if the doll was still in there, awaiting the garbage truck.

000

"You're up early," Gil said as he walked down the staircase.

Sara set down her mug of coffee and sighed. "I know. Gil, I've been having the most horrible dreams," she said.

Gil leaned over to kiss his wife gently on the forehead. "I'm sure it's just your injury, you brain is probably scrambled," he said.

Sara nodded in agreement. "You're probably right. I see Emily is still asleep," she said.

Gil smiled. "Thank God. I didn't hear her moan or anything," he said, taking a seat beside Sara.

"It bet it was that damn doll. I threw it away yesterday," she said as she brought her mug up to her lips.

Gil pursed his lips. "That old man in town said something strange about that doll. He said that he's seen other children with it."

"Maybe the mothers don't let the children bring it home with them. I wouldn't blame them any, it's freaky," Sara said.

Gil smiled. "Are you afraid that it may be a talking Tina or a Chucky? "He teased.

Sara shook her head. "It just carries… bad karma," she said, getting up to place her empty mug in the sink.

Gil turned to watch his wife walk to the sink. Even though Sara had had a child, her body didn't seem to show the stresses that came with child bearing. She still had her perfect shape and had gotten rid of her 'baby weight'. The only signs that Sara showed of child bearing were a few stretch marks.

"How's your head?" he asked.

Sara rubbed her bandage and sighed. "It aches, but as long as I keep it cleaned I'm sure it's going to be fine." she said.

Gil nodded. "Good. When did you change your bandage last?" he asked.

Sara thought back for a moment. "Yesterday afternoon. I put fresh salve on it and a new gauze pad." she answered.

Gil nodded. "Maybe it would be a good idea if I change it again. I'll go get the medical supplies," he said.

Sara rubbed the bandage that was wrapped around her forehead and sighed. She reached back and peeled the tap that held the bandage together. She threw the sticky gauze pad and old bandage in the trash and studied herself in a mirror that was nailed to the living room wall. The wound on her head was a deep crimson and looked angry. It had healed some, but it was still bleeding slightly.

"I'm thankful you weren't killed," Gil said as he set the bag of medical supplies down.

Sara nodded. "It happened so fast. At first I didn't feel anything, I just saw blood," she said.

"You're body was still in shock from flying over a horse's head," Gil said.

"Who knew I knew how to fly?" she joked as Gil we a swab with alcohol and cleaned her wound.

"Not me," he said with a smile.

000

Emily woke up around nine in the morning and Gil took her with him to town to by smore ingredients. With the house empty and Emily happy once again, Sara took this time to take the pregnancy test that she had bought in town. As she waited for the results she noticed that the magnets on the refrigerator.

"Waiting"

Sara gasped and starred at the letters, there was no possible way that Gil could have known she was waiting on something because he wasn't there.

"Who's doing this?" she said aloud.

She stooped and wiped the letters off and they went flying across the kitchen. She then rushed to the front door and secured the lock.

"Calm down Sara. There's an explanation for this," she said to herself.

Sara steadied her breathing and walked back into the kitchen to see the magnets that were strewn across the floor. She picked them up and stuck them back on to the refrigerator. The sound of the kitchen timer going off startled her and she dropped a handful of letters onto the floor. It took her a moment to remember that she had set it to go off when her tests results were ready. She quickly hurried to the bathroom, saw that the stick was positive, and she sighed; they were finally pregnant again. She walked back into the kitchen and started to pick up the letter again, but stopped and covered her hand with her mouth when she saw that the letters had yet again spelled something out.

"Not Gil"

000

When Gil returned to the house he was surprised to see Sara running out the door and into his arms.

"Miss me that much?" he said with a laugh.

"I have to show you something," she said, pulling him up the stairs and into the house.

Sara pulled him into the kitchen and pointed to the refrigerator. Gil was clueless for a moment, but then smiled.

"Not Gil?' He asked in confusion.

"When you left I to a pregnancy test and…" she started.

Gil lit up. "Are you pregnant?" he asked.

"No… I mean yes I'm pregnant, but that isn't what I wanted to show you," she said.

Gil raised his eyebrow. "Then what is it?" he asked.

"Gil, I didn't write that. First it said "Waiting", then it said "No Gil". This has been going on for a while, at first I thought it was you, but I know now that it's not," she explained.

"Sara, calm down. I'm sure-" Gil started.

"You're sure what? That it's in my head? That I'm imagining it? No Gil, someone is fucking with us," she said.

"It's the boogeyman," Emily piped up.

Gil turned to look at Emily and shook his head. "There's no such thing as the boogeyman," he said.

Emily nodded. "Yes there is daddy. He knows what we do all the time," she said.

"I'm not making it up," she whispered to Gil.

Gil pulled Sara back further into the kitchen; his face was firmly set in an expression that told Sara he wasn't happy.

"Sara," he said. "What are you doing? You're feeding Emily's fear by telling this … story right in front of her. She doesn't need this. I know you're probably confused and dizzy from your injury, but you have to hear what you're saying. First, it was that damn doll. Now, it's moving magnetic letters," he said.

Sara shook her head. "Gil, I'm serious. Something isn't right here," she said.


	9. Chapter 9

Sara had given up trying to convince Gil that they weren't alone and retreated to her bedroom to rest. She didn't feel the usual excitement of a new pregnancy, it was instead replaced by the fear of not being watched or maybe even stalked. As the day grew darker she noticed that Gil didn't follow her, or even try to comfort her. Finally, she opened the door soundlessly to see what her husband and daughter were doing.

"Daddy, your marshmallow is on fire!" she heard Emily laugh.

"I like them black," Gil replied.

Sara took a deep breath and decided to try and push the letter incident to the back of her mind. She wanted to enjoy her family and if she saw any more disturbances, she would simply tell Gil her head hurt too bad to stay. As she descended the stairs Emily, with her lightly toasted marshmallow, ran to embrace her.

"Mommy, do you feel better?" she asked.

Sara looked down into her daughter's piercing blue eyes and nodded. "I'm fine honey. I was just tired," she said.

Emily cupped her hand to whisper and Sara bent down to hear what she had to say. "I know about the boogey man. He watches us at night," she said.

Sara wanted to ignore the possibility that her child had been honest with her and blame it all on her own imagination, but something was off. Was it possible that Emily had more to say about this 'man that watches them at night'?

"Let's go make so smores," Sara said, distracting the child.

She walked Emily back over to the hearth and sat down next to Gil, who skewered a marshmallow and handed it to her.

"How was your nap?" he asked.

"It was fine. Just what I needed," she replied, holding her marshmallow over the flames.

As Gil and Emily continued to laugh about their burnt marshmallows Sara couldn't help but see the relation between the marshmallows and her family. Were they dangling over the edge of something deadly and dangerous, just waiting to devour them? As her marshmallow caught on fire and blackened, she decided that they were.

000

That night Sara found herself sleeping alone. Gil had convinced Emily that it would be interesting to set up camp in the living room and watch _Ghostbusters_. Sara was glad that Emily had her mind on lighter issues and that Gil was enjoying his daughter, but she felt a small pang of jealousy at the relationship that they had.

"Do you want to stay, mommy?" Emily asked.

"Mommy is going to get some good sleep tonight, while we have all the fun," Gil said, scooping his daughter up and planting kisses on her face.

"Yeah, I get to go upstairs and take a hot bath while you get to watch a movie," Sara said, kissing Emily's face as well.

"Go relax," Gil said, kissing her lightly and softly on the lips.

Sara smiled at both of them and turned to the staircase. "Goodnight," she said to both of them.

"Goodnight mommy." Emily said.

"Goodnight baby," Gil said.

Sara paused for a moment and felt a pang of guilt for not being happy about the pregnancy. Gil saw her hesitation and walked over to her.

"We can talk tomorrow. You've had a bad day," he said, giving her another kiss.

Sara nodded. "I am excited though and I'm relieved that we're going to finally have another baby," she said.

Gil smiled. "I know you are. I am too, but in the mean time you need to relax." he said, kissing the tip of her nose.

Sara kissed Gil softly once more and turned to ascend the stairs. Maybe there was a chance this was all in her head, but then again… Gil saw the words too.

000

"So, ready for _Ghostbusters_?" Gil asked Emily.

Emily nodded as she crawled under the 'fort' he built for her. "I'm all ready," came her small reply.

"I'll make some popcorn and be right in," he said, stepping into the kitchen to pop a bag of popcorn.

As Gil waited for the popcorn to finish, he thought of Sara and the new baby. He was ecstatic that she was pregnant, but was extremely worried about her behavior. It wasn't like her to get upset over nothing, not to mention she hadn't said a word about the baby.

"Daddy, I want to say something?" Emily said, walking barefoot into the kitchen.

Gil looked down at the little girl who was dressed in one of his big T-shirts and smiled. Emily was the apple of his eye and the key to his heart, no other child could compare to her.

"What do you want to say?" he asked, opening the microwave and emptying the bag into a big bowl.

"It's about mommy. I know she's seen the boogeyman," Emily said.

Gil set his jaw firmly. "Em, there is no such thing as the boogeyman. Mommy was just tired," he said.

"You saw the words.. They move around sometimes," she said.

Gil looked down at his tiny daughter once again. "Your being so serious," he half teased.

"Daddy, has the frigerator been spelling to you too?" she asked.

Gil wanted to pretend he wasn't listening, but his mind went back to words he had seen. He shook his head softly and sighed.

"Let's go watch the movie, love bug," he said.

000

**_DAY EIGHT_**

**_3:45 am_**

Late in the night Sara woke up and strained her ears for any sound of Gil and Emily, but all was quiet. She rolled over onto her side, buried her head into the pillow and tried to fall back into a peaceful sleep. A few moments later she thought she heard the sound of the door opening and pulled the blanket tighter around her.

"Gil, is that you?" she said into the darkness.

She felt Gil run his fingers through her hair and she sighed. His touch, no matter how worried she was, brought her so much peace.

"I'm so sorry, Gil. I don't know what go into me today. I haven't been feeling good," she said.

Gil's hand skated over her shoulder and over her stomach. Sara always loved the feeling of his rough hands on her soft skin. His touch always made her skin tingle with want for him.

"I'm so happy about the baby. We've been trying for so long; I didn't think it was ever going to happen," she said.

Gil lowered his head and kissed the nape of her neck softly, his beard tickled the back of her neck and she giggled.

"Your beard tickles," she laughed.

Gil slid his hands over her smooth stomach, brushing his thumb over her navel as he did so. He reached her panty line and Sara held her breath.

"Go on," she laughed, placing her hand atop his and guiding him south. "I know you want to," she said.

Gil nipped the back of her neck lightly as he slid his hand under the elastic band. Sara inhaled sharply as he slid a thick finger into her without warning. The pain quickly faded and she found herself growing wetter as he worked his finger in and out of her.

"Gil," Sara gulped.

She spread her legs wider and guided his other hand between her legs. Soon he set a pace and Sara felt pleasure tingling in the pit of her stomach.

"Gil, you feel so good." she purred, slamming her eyes shut and throwing her head back onto his shoulder.

She wanted to open her eyes to look into his, but when she opened her eyes all she saw was the darkness of the room. There was no moonlight to light up the room, so all she saw was black.

"I can't see you," she panted.

He withdrew his hands and skillfully removed her pajama bottoms and panties. He lowered his head to the juncture of her thighs and began to suckle lightly.

"Gil!" Sara yelped when his tongue entered her.

She tangled her fingers in his hair and made a reminder to tell him it was time for a haircut. He flicked his tongue over her clit one last time and she came apart, gasping his name. When she came down from her high he wrapped his strong arms around her and soon she fell asleep.

000

When Sara opened her eyes next it was morning and the birds outside were singing full force. She glanced over at the clock and saw that it was nearly nine in the morning, and she mentally kicked herself for sleeping in. After a hot shower and changing into fresh clothes she descended the stairs and heard Gil making cooking noises from the kitchen. Thoughts of the early morning activities flooded her mind and she smiled to herself.

"Good morning handsome," she said, kissing his neck as he stood at the stove flipping pancakes.

"You must have slept well," he said.

Sara hugged his waist and smiled. "I slept very well after that," she said.

"After what, honey?" he asked, staking the pancakes up on a plate.

"Quit joking," she said, kissing his neck lightly again.

"Honey, I really am clueless here," he said.

"Okay," Sara said with a sigh. "You came upstairs this morning. Any of that ring a bell?"

Gill shook his head. "I was asleep. After _Ghostbusters _she wanted to watch _Tinkerbell_, so I didn't get much sleep," he said.

Sara froze. "So… you didn't come upstairs last night?" she asked.

Gil shook his head. "No." he said.

Sara backed up and sank into a kitchen chair. She suddenly felt sick and she wanted to take a boiling hot shower and scour her skin with a steel wool pad.

"Gil, we need to get out of here," she said.

Gil sighed and turned to look at her. "I thought you had gotten passed that. What happened?" he asked.

Sara couldn't find the words to explain what happened. She thought that her husband had gone down on her that morning. She didn't understand why she didn't notice the difference. She knew her husband's body, probably better than she knew her own, but she never picked up on anything.

"Gil, I know you're not going to believe what I'm about to tell you. Last night somebody was in this house. They came upstairs and… they ….violated me," she said.

"Come again?" he asked.

"I thought it was you. I'm so scared, I want to go to the police," she said, wiping a tear off her cheek.

Gil knew when his wife was just confused or scared; this time she looked scared. He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly as she cried. The feel of her trembling angered him, and he wanted to get to the bottom of the situation and figure out what was scaring his family.

"I got you. Calm down and tell me slowly, don't leave anything out," he said.

Sara took a deep breath and recounted her story. Deep inside Sara felt that she had been molested by this intruder.

"I can show you what I was wearing," she said, taking him by the hand and leading him up the stairs.

In their bedroom Sara picked up the clothing that she had worn. The pants she was wearing were still on the floor beside the bed, the underwear still inside of them. Gil picked them up and looked around the room.

"Sara…" he started.

She ran back into his arms and cried. "I'm not making it up. There was someone in here and they did things to me that I would only let you do," she said.

Gil put his arms around his wife and held her. "Okay, we'll go home today," he said.

000

As Sara and Emily packed up everything in the house, Gil walked around the outside of the house; looking for any signs of somebody lurking around. He found the cellar that they never explored and stepped inside. It was dark, except for the rays of lights that came through the floor boards. On the dirt floor he saw the china doll that Sara hated.

"…_I threw it away yesterday,"_ Sara had said.

He walked through the cellar, which was deeper than he expected. Soon he came across a small staircase and ascended it.

"_He watches us all the time," _Emily had said.

His mind went back to the other day when he found the cat in the shed. He remembered Emily and Sara petting the cat and feeding it tuna.

"Mommy, here's my bag," he heard, clear as day.

He reached the top of the stairs and his head bumped against the floor boards. He felt around until he found a latch and slowly lifted the door until he was peering into the downstairs hallway of the house.

"Sara," he called.

"Gil, I thought you were outside," she said as she followed his voice.

She came into the hallway and saw him climbing out of the cellar. It shut soundlessly.

"I think we need to leave … quickly," he said.


	10. Chapter 10

"Have we got everything?" Gil asked as he zipped his duffel bag shut.

"I think so," Sara said with a nod.

"Okay," Gil said with a nod. "Let's go."

It didn't take long for the family to pack up all their belongings. After Gil found the trap door, he was thoroughly convinced that someone was sneaking in. He carried the rest of the bags out to the Jeep and started it up; while Emily and Sara did one final check to make sure they had everything they had brought with them.

"We got everything, daddy," Emily's small voice said as she walked out of the house with Sara.

"Okay, climb into the car while I lock up," he told his family.

He hurried into the house to check all of the doors and windows, making sure they were locked. When he was satisfied he left he turned to lock the front door behind him, but stopped when he noticed the open cellar door. He was sure had closed it.

"Gil!" Sara called, honking the car horn.

Gil shut the front door, locked it, and hurried down the porch steps.

OOO

"Are you warm back there, sweetie?" Sara said, adjusting the heat so that it was pointing towards the back seat.

Emily nodded. "Are we going home now?" she asked.

Sara nodded. "First we're going to the police and then we might find a motel tonight. But we'll be home by tomorrow." she said.

Gil climbed into the driver's seat and shut the door; Sara could see a worried and distraught expression on his face. For a moment she thought that he may have been angry, but another look told her it was a look of concern.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Gil looked over at her and shook his head. "Nothing," he replied, putting the car into gear and backing out of the driveway.

Sara laid her head back against the headrest and crossed her legs. She still felt like she need a scalding shower and she couldn't shake the feeling of another man between her legs. Gil seemed to know what she was thinking and took her hand in his.

"It's going to be alright," he said.

"Bye Horses," Emily said, waving to them as they drove past.

Just then the jeep jerked violently and swerved to the left. Sara gasped and grabbed unto Gil's upper arm. He tried to regain control of the vehicle, but they hit a tree. The air safety bags deployed and everything went dark.

OOO

"Sara, can you hear me?"

Sara opened her eyes, but she could only see white. She could hear Gil calling her name and she struggled to remember what happened. For a moment she thought she had fallen out of bed or maybe just sleeping face down; but soon everything came back to her in a flood of thoughts and feelings.

"Emily!" she called as she jerked her head up.

"She's fine," Gil said, cupping her face and looking into her eyes.

She felt a fresh trickle of blood and felt her forehead. The bandage that was covering her head wound had been torn away. Soon she became aware that her arm was twisted behind her back.

"Can you move?" Gil asked, feeling her neck.

Sara nodded and turned to look over at Emily. The little girl looked afraid and was huddled under a blanket, a tiny swear of blood could be seen on her cheek.

"Are you alright?" she asked Emily.

Emily nodded. "I thought we were going to die," she whispered.

"We're just fine," Sara said. "Mommy and daddy won't let you die."

She looked over at Gil, who had a bit of blood tricking down from his hairline. "What are we going to do?" she asked.

Gil pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. "I haven't had service since we got here. I think it would be best if we... went back to the house," he said.

Sara's eyes widened. "We can't," she gasped.

"Sara, I don't know what else to do. If we stay in the car we'll freeze. I can at least get you and Emily someplace warm while I go for help," he said.

Sara shook her head. "We can all walk together," she said.

"No, Emily couldn't handle that and you need to have your head looked at. I can go and be back quicker," he said.

Sara tried to think of another way around their situation, but Gil was right. There was nothing else that could be done. Emily couldn't handle the harsh cold wind on her face and her own sight was foggy. Not to mention she was carrying a baby.

"You're right," she admitted.

Gil pursed his lips. "We need to bundle up. Put on as many layers as you can and wrap Emily up. I'll carry her," Gil said.

They all bundled up and packed as much food as they could. Sara kept urging Gil to check for service, but he was still out of range. Finally, when they were sure they had what they needed, Gil picked Emily up and they started their long hike back to the house.

OOO

It took them exactly one hour to make it back to the lodge. Gil's arms were aching from carrying Emily and they were all hungry. When they keyed back into the house, Gil laid Emily down on the couch and instructed her not to move while he made a fire.

"I'll get warmed up, have something to eat and then go for help. Jennifer doesn't live far," he said, stocking the fireplace with kindling.

Sara nodded and walked into the downstairs bathroom to examine her wound. It didn't look any worse than it had, but it was open again and the sight of her bleeding from her forehead must have scared Emily to death. She found a few bandages in the bag she brought along and bandaged her head as best she could.

"Mommy?" Emily called from the living room.

"What is it, honey?" she said, walking over to her a bending down.

"I have to go potty," she said.

"Oh," Sara said, taking her hand. "You can go potty."

"I want you to come with me," Emily said.

Sara followed her daughter into the bathroom while she did her business and took the time to check her for cuts. Other than a small one on her cheek, Emily was just fine.

"How are going to get home now?" Emily asked.

Sara smiled and tried her best to remain calm. "Daddy is going to go get help," she answered.

"Is he going to leave us here all alone?" Emily asked.

Sara gulped. "Yes, but we'll be fine," she answered.

At least she hoped they would.

OOO

After Gil had warmed himself up, checked the weather on the television, and pushed a bookcase over the cellar door, he stepped back out into the cold to go for help. The weather was calling for snow storm that night and he wanted to hurry up. First he hiked for an hour back to the wrecked Jeep; he couldn't understand how he had lost control of the car. He examined each of the tires in turn and they all looked fine. He popped the hood and he noticed that the power steering cable had been filed down. Someone had deliberately tried to kill them.

"Mother fucker!" he swore as he slammed the hood down.

In the woods behind him he heard the howl of a wild animal. He didn't like leaving his family alone, especially after Sara had been violated like she had. For a moment he didn't want to believe her, but he knew she would never lie to him.

OOO

"Mommy, I want daddy to come back," Emily whined.

"I do too," Sara said, rocking her back and forth in a rocking chair.

A loud _bang_ rang through the downstairs and Emily cried. "It's him!" she said.

"It's the wind." Sara said, holding Emily close to her..

She wanted to believe her words but, she couldn't.

OOO

Just as the storm hit, Gil made it to Jennifer Johnson's front porch. He climbed up the steps and rang the door bell.

"Mr. Grissom is something wrong?" Jennifer asked when she saw him standing there.

Gil nodded. "We were in an accident about a few miles down the road. I need to use your phone to call the police," he said.

"The police? Was anyone hurt?" she asked as she held the door open for Gil.

"Everyone is fine, but I think an intruder has been breaking into the house and bothering my family," he said.

"The phone is over here. I had no idea!" she said, showing Gil to the phone.

Gil picked up the receiver and held it to his ear. Instead of hearing a dial tone, he heard silence.

"The phone is out," he said, placing the receiver back on the cradle.

"The storm must have knocked out the phone lines. I should have had a phone line installed in that house, but I never got around to it. I can give you a ride," Jennifer offered.

"I would appreciate it," Gil said.

Jennifer shrugged on a coat and pulled her boots on. "So, do you need to go to town?" she asked.

"Actually," Gil said. "Do you mind taking me to get my girls; I'd rather have them with me."

Jennifer shook her head. "That's not a problem."

OOO

Sara opened her eyes and listened to the wind howl outside. She checked her watch and saw that Gil had been gone for nearly four hours. Visions of him lying hurt or frozen flooded her mind.

"Please hurry," she prayed.

In her lap Emily had fallen asleep, but it wasn't her sleeping daughter that caught her attention. It was the porcelain doll with piercing blue eyes. It was sitting on top of the stone fireplace.

"You weren't there before," she said, as if it could hear her.

She expected it to shake its head or open its mouth to speak, but it only sat their; outlined by the fire. Sara gently placed Emily down on the couch and snatched up the doll as quickly as she could. She tossed it onto the blazing logs and watched as its hair caught fire, then its dress. She sighed and retreated to bathroom to wash her hands, as if she needed to wash some unseen evil from her skin. She stopped dead in her tracks when she realized that the bookcase, that had been covering the cellar door, had been moved.


	11. Chapter 11

Sara scooped up Emily as quickly as she could and rushed upstairs to one of the bedrooms. Her heart was pounding in her ears and she knew if someone was behind her, than she wouldn't hear them because she was that scared. She reached the room with the bunk beds first, shut the door, and locked it. The wind outside was howling and added to the fear that she already felt. Inside she wondered if she would be alive by the time Gil came home. She laid Emily on the bottom bed and let her frustration out by crying. She wanted Gil, she wanted to be in his arms and know she was safe. She looked around the room at the airplane wallpaper and sighed. For a moment she let her thoughts drift back to thoughts of the baby she was carrying. If it was male she knew Gil would be glad. Emily was his baby girl and they both loved her more than life, but a son would be a great addition to the family. She leaned over to click on the small lamp on the bedside table, but the power had gone out.

000

At that moment Gil and Jennifer were in the truck just around the corner. The snow was falling so fast that Gil hoped and prayed they could make it to Hickory Ridge before the wind picked up.

"Don't worry, Mr. Grissom. I am sure we'll make it," Jennifer said as they pulled into the driveway of the house.

Gil opened the door and jumped out. When he opened the front door he expected to see Sara and Emily waiting on him in the living room, but instead he saw an empty room. The china doll that he hated with a fury was lying on the hearth; half of its face was black.

"Sara!" he called.

He walked further into the dark room and saw that the bookcase he had placed over the cellar door was moved. He gulped and rushed up the stairs, calling to his family.

000

When Sara heard Gil call her name it was like music to her ears. She gathered Emily in her arms and hurried to the door. She wanted him to hold her for just a moment so that she could feel that she was safe.

"Gil, I'm here," she said as she opened the door.

Gil looked relieved and took Emily from Sara. While she was being passed from mother to father she woke up and saw that her daddy had come back.

"Daddy, I thought the boogeyman was going to get you," she said, wrapping her little arms around his neck.

"He didn't. Jennifer is here so we need to hurry," he said.

Just then Emily grasped Gil. "Daddy the boogeyman!" she screamed.

Sara turned and saw a figure rise up from behind the bunk beds. She had locked herself _in _that room. Was it possible that someone had been in there with them the whole time? Gil pulled Sara with him as he rushed down the stairs and out the door. Outside the wind was picking up and the cold was so bitter that it took her breath away. Emily started to gasp for air in Gil's arms and he put his coat over her small face so her little lungs could breathe. Gil squinted and looked left and right for Jennifer's truck, but didn't see it.

"I can't believe this!" he said loudly.

Sara couldn't move. The cold air was creeping under clothes and biting her skin like she was wearing nothing at all. Gil tugged her to the left and to the right; she followed like a dog on a leash. For some reason she started to lose focus on what was going on. Gil looked her in the eyes and the expression he had was one of total fear.

"I have to get you two back inside," he said in a voice Sara barely heard.

Sara felt her whole body begin to tingle and she felt incredibly tired. The wind blew so hard it whipped her hair around and it slapped her face and stung.

"Daddy, I can't breathe!" Emily cried.

Gil tugged them back into the house for a moment and pulled Emily out from underneath his coat. Sara heard her gasping for breath and her mind was awake enough to know to grab her inhaler from her pocket and puff it into her mouth. Gil waited until Sara was done and then hurriedly pulled them into the bathroom.

"Stay in here and don't come out," he said as he checked the shower and the cabinet.

He put Emily in her arms and kissed Sara hard, harder than he had in a long time. Sara felt her tears flowing, but couldn't think straight enough to stop them. She knew her body may have been going into shock.

"Lock the door and don't come out. Not even if I call you," he said.

Sara still couldn't answer and Gil didn't expect her to. He kissed her again. "I love you. Meeting you was worth everything," he said.

He locked the door and left so quick Sara didn't have time to reply. She didn't want him to go and for a moment she thought about opening the door and following him, but Emily was in her arms and she could put her in danger.

"Gil," she said in a whisper.

She backed up until she hit the sink and slid down until she was sitting. She didn't have enough energy left to cry.

000

Gil grabbed a blanket off the couch and bundled himself up. He had to get to Hickory Ridge and get help as fast as he could. Emily's body couldn't take the cold and Sara was going into shock. A sound behind him made him turn and he opened the front door to see a figure standing there. It hit him with something heavy and metal so fast that he couldn't see it. The last thoughts he had were of Emily as a new born baby and Sara on the day he married her. Then everything was black.

000

Sara didn't know that Gil was laying injured a few feet away from her and she didn't know that someone was standing outside door. She did know that her body was more alert and that her daughter needed to be her main focus. She saw the door knob wiggle and prayed it was Gil.

"Gil, is that you?" she said.

The door knob stopped wiggling and in the next moment her heart almost stopped. She saw the lock turn. Sara set Emily on the floor quickly and shoved her shoulder into the door. Something on the other side tried to push it open, but Sara put all her weight into it and held it closed. The force on the outside seemed to be greater than her and she felt her body slipping back as she weakened.

"Leave us alone!" she screamed.

Emily hurried over and tried to help, but her small body didn't help much. Suddenly it stopped and for some reason the stillness scared her more. She quickly locked the door back and grabbed a fistful of her own hair. She wanted to pull, but she saw Emily watching her.

"Mommy, I wet my pants," she said.

Sara looked at her and smiled. "Don't worry. I almost did," she said, taking her in her arms.

000

Sara and Emily waited in the bathroom for hours. Gil didn't come back and the 'boogeyman' didn't either. Sara mustered up her courage, picked Emily up, and cracked the door open. The hallway was empty, but the cellar door was open. Sara looked inside and the basement was like a mouth that could swallow them whole. She didn't call for Gil; she simply tiptoed into the living room and looked around. Everything was as quiet and still as if nothing had happened. As if her husband wasn't gone and someone wasn't trying to kill her and her child.

"Mommy, I see blood," Emily said in a voice so calm that it startled Sara.

"Where is it?" Sara asked.

"By the door," Emily said, pointing.

Sara looked and saw a small pool of blood. Not enough to kill a man, but enough to hurt someone seriously.

"Mommy where is daddy?" Emily asked.

Sara's lip trembled. "I don't know," she said.

Emily sniffled. "Mommy, where is the boogeyman?" she asked.

Sara felt warm tears slip down her cheeks. "I don't know," she said

Emily coughed and sniffed again. "Mommy, are we going to die?" she asked.

Sara didn't answer


	12. Chapter 12

**_DAY NINE_**

**_2:30 am  
_**  
Sara felt herself nodding off, but tried with all her might to stay awake. Around her the house seemed like it had ears and was listening for her to breathe. Emily had fallen asleep in her arms and she sat huddled against the bathroom cabinet, clutching knife she had gotten from the kitchen. She waited and prayed to hear Gil come back, but heard nothing but the sound of the raging wind. Outside it screamed like an animal that would surely eat her and Emily up. Waiting was what killed her. She thought if something or someone wanted her dead then she wanted it quick.****

"Jesus loves the little children…," she started to sing. "All the little children of the world…"

They had never taken Emily to church, but Gil had been raised Catholic and had Emily baptized when she was born. Gil said it was a tradition. He was baptized and so were his parents and so on. Sara hadn't been raised to any religion.

"Red and yellow, black and white," she sang, looking down into the face of his daughter.

Once, a girl in school had given her some pamphlets. She had taken them home to her father and he tore them up and tossed them in the fire.

"If I want you to go to church I'll take you," he said.

Sara knew that had been a lie. He had never taken them anywhere. And now that she was huddled like a child, waiting on her fate, she wanted the protection of the God she heard about.

"They are precious in his sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world," she finished.

000

She didn't realize she had fallen asleep until she jerked her head up and felt the knife slip from her hand. Emily was still in her arms asleep. She could see her small eyelids moving and knew she was dreaming.

"_I hope you are having good dreams, baby_," Sara thought.

She knew she would have to open the door and go for help somehow, but she didn't want to put Emily's life in danger. She had thought about hiding her, but eventually she would either get found or die of an asthma attack. Then again, Emily knew how to use her inhaler. Gil had taught her how to when she was very young. Sara knew that someone needed to do something, because soon the generator for the house would go out. That is if 'the boogeyman' didn't get them first.

"Gil, what happened to you?" she asked no one.

Sara checked her watch and saw that Gil had been gone for nearly four hours. It wasn't like him to say he would come back for her and not do it. Visions of his mangled body flooded her mind and she began to hyperventilate.

"Don't do this Sara. You're Emily's mother and she needs you. She needs her mother," a part of her said.

Sara slowly set Emily on the floor and stood to look through the bathroom cupboards. It wasn't a big bathroom at all, but maybe there was something she could use as a weapon. Her hand closed around one of Gil's blue plastic razors. His beard was tough to shave, and if he didn't shave it every single day then it would get to rough and he would have to use an old fashioned one. However, she liked his beard and he usually kept it short for her. The thought that she would never feel it against her face brought tears to her eyes. If Gil was out there, somewhere, then he needed her.

"I have to go," she said to herself.

Sara leaned over Emily and picked her up. Emily had always been small, but for some reason she was heavy. She put her hand on the knob and turned.

"Gil," she whispered down the cold hallway.

The air in the house was cold and sharp. The front door was standing wide open and outside the blizzard was still raging. Her breath came out in steamy puffs and the hand that held the razor shook. She strained her ears for a sound of any other footsteps besides her own, but all she heard was the screaming wind. Sara came to stand at the place where Emily had pointed out the blood. She looked at and then looked around, but was seemingly alone in the big living room.

"Gil," she said again.

There were drag marks in the blood that disappeared behind her. She turned and saw them disappear into the hall for where she came. If it was Gil's blood then he was hurt and needed her.

"He may be dead," a voice in her head said to him.

Sara shook her head, as if she were responding to the voice, and kept going down the hallway. Emily squirmed in her arms and Sara tried to wrap her jacket around her as best she could.

"You need to get back into that bathroom," her voice said again.

The blood trail stopped suddenly and Sara gasped. It led into to the cellar.

000

Gil woke up to the screaming of the wind and blinked. One of his eyes wouldn't open and gently he touched his face. There was a trickle of blood coming down from his forehead and a giant gash on the side of his head. He sat up as slowly as he could but his world swam and he slammed his eyes shut.

"You need to get up old man. Sara and Emily are alone," he told himself.

He struggled to his \knees and tried to stand. He was able to hold onto the wall and stand, but soon sank back down to the ground. He looked around to figure out where he was and recognized the cellar.

"Gil, come on," he said.

He heard the sound of footsteps behind and turned so quickly that he saw black. He slumped to the floor again and before his world went dark, he thought he heard Sara calling his name.

000

Sara placed Emily in the bathtub with a blanket and her inhaler. She was going to go into the cellar, but she wasn't going to take her daughter with her.

"Lord, please keep my baby safe," she said.

She kissed Emily's head and locked the bathroom door as she shut it. She felt alone in the hall without her baby in her arms. She lifted the cellar door and looked down into the darkness. The blackness looked like a mouth, more than likely to be filled with thousands of razor sharp teeth. She descended the stairs slowly, the groaning of the wood sent shivers down her spine.

"Gil?" she whispered.

She reached the bottom of the stairs and waited for her eyes to adjust. The light that came from up the stairs looked far away to her. She heard something move from across the room and she froze.

"I made a mistake," she thought.

She strained her eyes into the dark and saw a slumped figure by the wall. She walked over to it slowly, her hand still clutching the blue plastic razor.

"Gil!" she whispered with excitement when she realized it was him.

She stopped down to kiss him and she felt his pulse. It was still strong.

"Sara, go back upstairs," he said to her. His voice sounded weak.

Sara pulled his arm. "No. We'll go together before-" she started

There was a slam and the cellar was thrown into darkness. Sara let go of Gil and rushed over to the ladder. The cellar door had been closed and the sound of something heavy being positioned over it was heard. Sara felt herself lose control and she screamed.

"Please stop!" she screamed, grabbing her hair and falling to her knees.

Gil was still standing by the wall and he was trying to make his way over to her. She looked up at him and suddenly wished they were already dead.

"I left our baby up there," she said.


	13. Chapter 13

Emily Grissom opened her eyes and sat up slowly. The light in the bathroom was on, but her mommy was nowhere to be seen. Before she fell asleep her mommy had been holding her, but now she was gone.

"Mommy?" she called.

The air in the bathroom was bitterly cold and Emily snuggled down into the blanket and shivered. She strained her little ears for any sounds, but could hear none.

"_If you go out on the woods today ... You're sure of a big surprise_," she sang, keeping her eye on the door knob.

When she was little, her daddy would sing her the 'Teddy Bear Picnic'. She always imagined the teddy bears drinking from tea cups and eating sandwiches. Now that she was older she knew that teddy bears didn't have picnics, but ate out of honey pots like 'Winnie-the-pooh'.

"_If you go out in the woods today you better not go alone…. If you go out in the woods today it's safer to stay at home,_" she sang.

Emily sat up and wiped her nose with her sleeve. Mommy never liked it when she wiped her nose on her sleeve; she said it left snot all over the place. Slowly she pushed the shower curtain aside, to look for tissue, and fell back into the bathtub.

"Why don't you leave me alone?" she said as she started to cry.

The doll looked back at her with its unblinking eyes and burned face. Its hair was mostly gone and its dress was in tatters.

000

Sara was trying to push the door up as hard as she could; but whatever was over the door was too heavy for her to lift. She had ripped the hem of her shirt and bandaged Gil's head as best she could, but he needed to see a doctor.

"Gil," Sara said, climbing back down the stairs and walking over to him. "I'm going to have to go around to the front door," she said.

Gil had his head in his hands, but he shook his head. "Let me go," he said.

"I'm not going to sit down here and worry about you. If you go I go too," she said.

Gil stood. He was still woozy and dizzy, but he knew he had to stand. "Sara…" he started.

The look on her face to him she was serious. Throughout their marriage they had their arguments, but they always made up. He knew that whenever Sara was serious about something she had a certain facial expression. And that was exactly what she was giving him at this moment.

"OK," he said, taking her hand.

They made their way to the door that led to the outside and braced themselves for the cold. Outside the wind had stopped, but not a star shown in the blankness outside. Even though the wind had died, the air was still sharp and took your breath away. The snow was deep and it came far over the tops of her boots. She held onto Gil's hand and had to pull him every now and then towards the front of the house. When they go to the front door Sara hesitated.

"Get behind me," Gil said, pulling Sara back.

Sara thought that now that the wind was gone they may be able to make a run for it. If they hurried and bundled Emily up, then they could make it to Hickory Ridge. There they could call the police. Gil cracked the front door open and pushed it with his foot. He jumped back and Sara expected o see someone standing there, but there was no one.

"Where did you leave Emily?" Gil asked.

"She's in the downstairs bathroom," Sara answered.

Gil walked in slowly and looked around. Everything was dark inside. The fire had been put out and all the lights in the house were off. The only light came from under the bathroom door.

"I'll get her. You stay here," he said.

He walked swiftly to the bathroom and wiggled the knob. "Emily, it's daddy. Open the door," he said.

Sara strained her ears for Emily's tiny reply, but none came. Gil knocked on the door and jiggled the knob again.

Sara began to panic. "What if she isn't in there?" she thought.

She hurried into the house and up to the bathroom door. "Emily, open the door," she said.

Sara wiggled the doorknob, though she knew it was locked, and banged her fist on the door. "Emily! " she called.

"Emily," Gil said sternly. "It's us. You have this door open by the time I count to three. One…"

The door stayed closed and Sara put her hand to her mouth. She shouldn't have left her.

"Two," Gil said.

"Gil, she isn't in there," Sara said.

Faster than Sara had ever seen, Gil put his foot to the door and kicked it beside the knob. It must have been weak because the door gave and it swung open. Sara hurried over to bathtub and pulled back the shower curtain.

"She's gone!" Sara cried.

Gil put his arms on her shoulders and turned her around to face him. The look in his eyes reflected pain.

"Could she be anywhere else?" he asked.

Sara shook her head and Gil let go of her. He went over to where the cellar door and knocked over the bookcase that was covering it. It crashed to the floor and books went flying everywhere.

"I told you not to leave the bathroom!" he said

Gil had never acted like how he was acting now. He went quickly into the kitchen and screamed Emily's name. The sound of his voice sent chills up Sara's back and made her cry. She watched as she pounded up the stairs and opened doors, but Sara knew in her gut that Emily wasn't there.

0000

_**6:00 am**_

Hours had passed and Gil finally sat down on the couch with his head in his hands. Sara was too afraid to speak to him, not only because she left Emily behind, but because he wasn't acting like himself.

"We're not going to leave the house without her," he finally said.

"I know that Gil," Sara said. "I would never leave without her."

Gil stood up and walked around the room. "She's just hiding somewhere," he said.

Sara nodded. "I hope so," she said.

Gil shook his head at her. "No, she_ is_ hiding. She just needs to come out from wherever she is," he said.

Sara nodded to him and tried to walk into the kitchen. Gil moved swiftly and took hold of her arm, his grip was tight. Sara tried to pull away from, but he had always been much stronger than her. In good times, they would often scuffle as people in love would often do. He would let her climb on is back, when he was feeling up to it, but this Gil was different. This Gil looked like it wanted to hurt her.

"You know I love you, right?" he said.

Sara nodded and put her arms around him. "I know you do. I love you too," she said.

Sara calculated in her head how long it would take her to make it to Hickory Ridge by herself. Gil was having some sort of breakdown, either caused by the head wound or Emily's disappearance. Whatever the cause, he needed help. Not to mention that she needed to have Emily found. Sara could only imagine the horrible things Gil was thinking because she had already thought of them herself. At this moment, Emily could be the victim of some sort of torture and there wasn't anything they could do. She had to go to town. And she would go with or without Gil.

"Gil, I'm going to go for help," she said.

Gil shook his head. "No one is going anywhere without Emily," he said.

"Listen to me!" she said. "She may be hurt. I need to go and get help. The sun is going to be up soon and it isn't as cold. I'll be back." she said.

To Sara's amazement Gil nodded. "I should go for help. I didn't protect her and if she is dead it is my fault," he said.

"No, it's mine. You told me to stay in the bathroom and I didn't. I shouldn't have left her alone," she said.

Gil put his arms around Sara and she saw the old Gil. The Gil she had met so many years ago and the Gil who was the father of her daughter. Sara kissed him softly and smiled.

000

Emily looked around her surroundings and her lip quivered. The man in the bathroom had opened the door like it hadn't been locked at all. He hadn't hurt her, but he put a funny smelling rag over her mouth and she had gone to sleep. When she woke up she was in a cage. It reminded her of the animal pens in the movie Beethoven. Outside the cage, a man stood sharpening something with a long knife. He didn't know she was awake and she didn't want him to know.


	14. Chapter 14

_**7:30 am**_

Together Sara and Gil trudged through the snow. The wind had picked up again and was howling; calling out their names with its eerie high-pitched cry. The twosome knew that if Emily was outdoors, perhaps wandering around confused, then she needed to be brought inside fast. Hoping that their attacker, this madman who was making their life hell, didn't have her was the only thing that kept them both sane. The couple held onto each other for warmth and support; they had to get out of the nightmare that was making havoc of their lives.

"Emily!" Sara called out, growing more panicked as time wore on.

Screaming was no use, the wind picked up each syllable and carried it up; all cries fell silent. The sharp chill took her breath away and she buried her head against Gil. Though he had accompanied her, Sara was still concerned about her husband's mental state. Gil was a loving father, who worshiped his daughter and thought the sun rose with her smile. Losing her would be the end of his world; of both their worlds. One could only take so much of this nightmare and it was already too much.

"Are you alright!?" Gil shouted into her ear.

Sara nodded. "Let's just find Emmy before this son-of-a-bitch does," she said. "I want to kill him Gil. No one has the right to do this to us."

Gil couldn't agree more. "We should just try and make the run to Hickory Ridge. If we keep her under our coats we'll make it," he said.

"What about your head!?" Sara asked, shouting above the piercing scream of the wind.

Gil waved it off. "I'll be fine," he said. "I'm more concerned about you."

Sara knew that he was. "I'll be fine," she said. "Let's just get Emily and go for help."

Together they walked slowly and sluggishly. The wind was working against them, pushing them back towards the house. In Sara's mind, it was the enemy; it wanted them to die. The icy grip of death felt very near for them both, and Gil was afraid for the end.

"Look!" Sara shouted, pointing to a structure up ahead.

Almost three yards away was a house, or what Gil thought looked like a house. Sara pulled away from him, but Gil held onto her arm fast. In all honesty, he was afraid of the looming shelter. It looked foreboding and sinister.

"She's in there," Sara said to herself. "I know it."

Weather the little girl had taken refuge there, Gil did not know. He only knew that it was a possibility, and that possibility held more hope than nothing at all.

000

Playing possum wasn't a game for everyone. One had to practice being a possum in order to pull the act of skillfully, without giving yourself away. It was a good trick when you wanted surprise attack your daddy, or get out of taking a bath. Most times, however, daddy was used to Emily playing possum and he would tickle her under her arms until she laughed out loud.

"Emily Grissom," he said. "You're a gold star possum player."

Even though it had been a game in the past, Emily felt that playing possum at this moment would save her life. Through lidded eyes she looked at her surroundings. Hooks and chains hung from the ceiling. The sharp ends of the hooks looked dangerous and Emily hurt just by looking at them. At the workbench, the boogeyman was busy sharpening tools. He whistled eerily to himself and set each tool aside when he was finished with them. Though Emily could not see them, she knew that they were bad. Mommy sometimes sharpened her knives at home. She never let Emily touch them because she said they would hurt a little girl.

"_Daddy_," she thought. "_Come and get me_."

Somewhere a door opened and the boogeyman quit sharpening. He looked up so quickly, that he nearly caught Emily peeking. She shut her eyes quickly and she heard him push back his bench and stand. Though she couldn't see him, she heard him walk to her cage and felt him looking down at her. Emily stayed still; she wouldn't dare peek to see what he was doing. Finally, the footsteps walked away and disappeared. Cautiously she opened one eye and then the other; the boogeyman had gone away. Slowly she sat up and rubbed her bottom. There was nothing on the bottom of the cage to protect her from the bars and she only had her coat to keep her warm.

"Emmy!" she heard her mommy call.

She turned quickly, but instead of her mommy, she saw the boogeyman. He had tricked her and was looking at her through the metal bars. She opened her mouth to scream, but no noise came out. She felt tingles in her hands and her head started to hurt. She gasped for air and felt her pockets for her inhaler.

"Oh no!" she gasped, looking around the cage,

The boogeyman looked at her like she was his pet; his puppy. He was wearing a Black coat that had a furry hood and big, black gloves. His face was so far back in his hood that she couldn't see it. He smiled at her, showing his ugly teeth. With one hand he opened the cage and Emily backed away.

"Leave me alone!" she cried. "I want to go home!"

He didn't reach for, but simply set Anastasia inside. Emily hated her now. She was scary and her burnt face made her look like a zombie doll. Emily didn't like zombies. They boys at school teased the girls and ran around trying to eat their brains. Mommy said it was for play, but Emily though it was mean.

"I want my mommy!" she cried.

The boogeyman nodded and stood. He relocked the cage, draped a blanket over it, and left. Now that Emily was surely alone, she felt afraid. Was this man going after her mommy and daddy? She had to get out and stop him.

000

Sara had called out for Emily, but no answer came. She was so terrified she had an attack somewhere, but luckily she had her inhaler in her coat pocket. Gil took her by the arm and sat her on the couch.

"Sit here and wait on me," he said. "I'll look around. There is a jeep out back so I'll look for keys as well."

Sara nodded, but she didn't want to be left alone. "I can't wait Gil," she said. "I am so scared now."

Gil gave her a kiss. "So am I," he said. "I need to know you are safe or I'll lose my mind. Stay right here, don't move. Yell if something happens."

He opened a door that led to another part of the house, and left Sara sitting there. She hated being useless. Her baby girl could be having an asthma attack somewhere and she was sitting on a couch like a bump on a log. She stood, walking to the window and cupping her hands to look out into the storm. It was only possible for her to see only inches in front of her eyes; the storm had picked up speed since they entered the house. To her left there was an album. To pass the time she opened it, expecting to see vacation pictures. The first picture was of a family: a man, woman, and two children. The family looked content and happy; for a moment Sara envied them. The next photo was of a different family; a man, woman, and a single child. The next page did not have a photo, but a newspaper clipping.

"Family of four goes missing," Sara read to herself. "State police have no leads."

The news paper clipping looked dated and the yellowed picture looked just like the first family photo she saw. The next page held another newspaper article. It too stated that a family was missing and had a photo of the second family. The next age held a photo of a little girl. She looked similar to Emily in a small way and she was clutching the porcelain doll.

Sara shut the album. "Gil!" she called.

She opened the door he had gone out of and looked up and down the long dark hall. She had no flashlight with her, but with her hand she felt along the wall as she walked. Underneath her feet, the floorboards creaked. Carelessly Sara put her hand on an on a door and it swung open. She fell to the floor and looked up to see a staircase leading up to the attic.

"Emmy!" she called, getting to her feet.

Quickly and clumsily she ascended the stairs, calling out her daughter's name. At the top of the stairs there was an open door and she entered the room beyond it cautiously. The attic space appeared to be some sort of tool shed, with hooks and chains hanging feet from her face. In the corner sat a square object with a blanket. Something under it moved, sending a chill down Sara's spine. Then it coughed, and Sara knew who it was. She threw off the blanket and cried with joy at finding Emily.

"Emmy!" Sara gasped. "I'm here now. Mommy and daddy are here and we are going to get out of here."

She struggled with the door to the cage for a moment, but then noticed it was locked. She quickly shut the door she came through and looked around for something to free Emily with.

"Mommy," Emily gasped, "I need my puffer."

Sara dug in her pocked and pulled out the inhaler. "Here, take a puff," she said, pushing her arm through the bars and puffing the medicine into her daughter's mouth.

Emily breathed deeply and coughed. "He's here," she gasped. "The boogeyman."

Sara didn't argue with her. "I know," she said. "We are leaving now."

Sara found a screwdriver on the workbench and went to work on the lock. It popped open easily and Sara held out her arms for Emily. Mother and daughter collided and embraced.

"Ready to go?" she said.

Emily nodded. "I don't want to ever see snow again," she said.

Sara straightened her cat and tied her hood tighter. "I don't blame you," she said. "Now let's-"she stopped and looked at the surprised expression on Emily's face. "What is it?" she asked when she saw Emily's blue eyes grow large.

She turned her head to look over her shoulder, but just as she did a fist met her nose and she felt herself falling to the ground. Emily screamed and hurried to her side.

"Don't hurt my mommy!" she said, wrapping her little arms protectively around her mother. Sara pushed her back and they crawled across the room. The figure walked closer, but a flash of anger inspire Sara to rise up. She flew at him, fists waving; ready to defend her young. Blindly she struck at anything. She felt the crunch of bone and knew she was succeeding.

"Go Emmy!" Sara called back. "Go find daddy."

Emily was stunned, no matter how hard her little mind told her to move… she couldn't. Sara gripped her shoulder, harder than she had intended, and hurled her towards the door.

"Go now!" she said. "Get Daddy!"

* * *

**To say that I am sorry to be late is an understatement. I am so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so sorry. I will finish this :) please leave a review and thank you all for your past reviews. **


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